Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 31 Mar 1993

Vol. 428 No. 6

Adjournment Debates. - Educational Placement for Juvenile.

Mr. Allen

I thank the Chair for giving me the opportunity of raising this issue which concerns a slightly retarded 15 year old boy in Cork. When I raised the matter on a previous occasion the boy was 13 years old. The boy has not been to school in the meantime. Because of his poor attendance record at school, his parents were brought before the Cork District Court. They were convicted and the boy was ordered to be taken to the Bridewell in Cork and subsequently to Saint Michael's in Dublin for assessment. Following which the boy was returned to Cork. That was an alarming outcome but I understand that safeguards were put in place to ensure that a case of that kind would not be dealt with in that way again.

The boy still does not have a school to go to. A number of public bodies have a statutory obligation to this young lad. The Minister's Department has a major responsibility but has failed to find a place for him. The Southern Health Board also has a role but except for an occasional visit from a sympathetic social worker no action has been taken by it. It suggested that the boy be sent to a residential home in Cork but that was rejected by the parents as being totally unsuitable.

When the matter was raised by me, in a newspaper recently, without mentioning the name of the boy, the local school attendance officer took umbrage and said it was his statutory obligation, and his alone, to deal with the case. If that is so, why did he not deal with it in the past two years? The voluntary organisations were asked to help, but they, being starved of funding for some years now, are ill-equipped to deal with such problems. It is shameful that we can speak so highly of the rights of children and yet leave a 15 year old boy languishing at home for such a long time, abandoned by the State and by a system that is seen to be ineffective. I would ask the Minister to come to the help of this young person. I know there is a broader issue involved but something must be done to deal with this case. The Minister should give some sign of hope to the family in her reply.

Minister for Education (Ms Bhreathnach)

I am sorry that the Deputy had to return to the House two years later to raise this matter again.

I am aware of the case in question and the difficulties which have been encountered to date in securing a suitable educational placement which will meet the boy's needs. The essential problem is that, according to psychiatric and psychological reports, the boy in question is severely emotionally disturbed and has been so since birth. This is borne out by the pattern of his attendance and behaviour in an educational context.

Since he started pre-school at three years of age he has displayed disturbed and disruptive behaviour and his teachers found him very difficult to control. At four years of age, he was enrolled in the Christian Brothers National School in Blarney Street, Cork. However, his behaviour again created management difficulties for the school authorities and in 1984, he was referred for assessment to the then existing Southern Health Board's Unit for emotionally disturbed children in Sarsfield's Court Hospital where he was seen by the unit's psychologist at two-monthly intervals for some time.

Because of his inability to cope with the primary school curriculum and because of difficult behaviour, non-compliance and refusal to attend school, he was referred for assessment in 1988 to Cope Foundation and in 1990 to the Brothers of Charity Child and Family Clinic. These assessments indicated that his intellectual functioning was in the range between mild mental handicap and dull normal intelligence. After discussion between the Brothers' of Charity Services, the Cope Foundation and the Christian Brothers, he was referred for placement to St. Mary's Special School, Rochestown, Cork, a school for children with mild mental handicap. He attended St. Mary's from November 1990 to July 1991. However, during that school year, his attendance was very irregular and the school reported that he was disruptive and aggressive in class. He refused to return to school after the summer holidays. Subsequently, he was referred to the Cope Foundation for possible placement in Scoil Bernadette a special school for mildly mentally handicapped children run by Cope Foundation. However, following various assessments and a case conference it was decided that placement in that school would be inappropriate.

In March 1992 the boy was referred to St. Michael's Assessment Unit, Finglas Children's Centre, for a three-week assessment period. The various psychological and psychiatric reports concluded that he should return home and be placed in a special schools and that he and his parents be provided with counselling. It was further recommended that if this approach did not succeed, he should be placed in a residential school where both his educational needs and his psychiatric problems could be addressed. Such placement would be the responsibility of the health authorities.

The fact that the boy is now at home and not attending school is a cause for serious concern. I can appreciate that his very challenging behaviour has placed heavy demands on the educational and health authorities, as well as on his parents. Nevertheless, I share the Deputy's concern that satisfactory provision be made as a matter of urgency. To this end, I have arranged for my Department to enter into urgent discussions with school and health authorities with a view to securing an appropriate educational placement for him as soon as possible.

I will inform the Deputy of the outcome of this investigation as soon as possible. I thank Deputy Allen for drawing this matter to my attention.