Vol. 504 No. 7
28 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will introduce a legal entitlement to an assessment of need for any child with special needs; and if he will make a statement on educational supports necessary to meet the needs and on a commitment by the State to all reasonable efforts to provide the supports specified. [13024/99]
Over the past year and a half a series of moves have been taken by this Government which have reversed years of neglect in the area of special needs provision. We have introduced support schemes based on needs rather than resource constraints and a system of practically enabling assessments is well under way. The statutory entitlement to an assessment is an idea I am not opposed to but we need to avoid putting the cart before the horse. The crucial thing is to be in a position to provide the assessments and to provide the ensuing supports.
Where the educational needs of a person with a disability are concerned, assessments can play an important role in identifying needs and contributing to the development of an appropriate response. It is for this reason the Government has decided to establish the National Psychological Service Agency. Funding for this new service will be provided through the social inclusion package announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement 1998.
The Education Act, 1998, provides the statutory basis for this agency. The agency will have delegated authority to develop and provide an educational psychological service to all students who need such a service in the primary or post primary schools. As part of this development, the recruitment of an additional 25 psychologists is currently under way and it is intended to recruit a further 25 psychologists to the service in the year 2000. The agency will eventually employ up to 200 psychologists as well as the necessary administrative and support staff. It has been agreed to set a target for the provision of a comprehensive service over a five year development period.
I point out also that the Education Act contains a number of provisions which support the position of the special needs pupil. For example, section 9 provides that each school will have to ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special education needs, are identified and provided for. Furthermore, section 15 provides that each school board must publish the policy of the school concerning admission to and participation in the school by students with disabilities or other special educational needs.
I recently announced a major new development in special education services under which all children with special educational needs within the primary system are now entitled to an automatic response to those needs. The response may take the form of an extra teacher or child care support, or both, depending on the needs of the child. As a result of this development, my Department has allocated an additional 46 full-time and 26 part-time resource teachers and an additional 247 special needs assistants to children with special needs.
Following my announcement, my Department engaged in consultations with the education partners with a view to preparing a circular for issue to primary schools setting out the entitlement to automatic response for special needs pupils and outlining how applications can be made. This work has now been completed and the circular will issue to schools within days.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I have decided to reduce the pupil teacher ratios in all special schools and special classes catering for children with mild learning disability, children with moderate learning disability, children with emotional disturbance and children with physical disability. These reductions will bring the pupil teacher ratios in all special schools and special classes down to the level recommended by the Special Education Review Committee.
Combined, these measures are delivering long awaited improvements. They are a practical demonstration of our commitment to provide both assessment and support for children with special needs and they represent a dramatic move away from an approach which was willing to spend large sums on legal costs rather than take action.
Does the Minister not agree that, ultimately, the only way to drive this agenda consistently forward is to recognise the legal right of every child to have his needs assessed and the obligation of the State to deliver? Is it not the case that the State is effectively hiding behind the lack of an assessment to provide less than full support to these children? Does the Minister agree that it is lamentable that his Department has no data on the number of children with special needs or the service they are obtaining? This is something the Minister has frequently accepted. Is it the case that the current approach is not a matter of putting the cart before the horse but rather of live horse and get grass? The Minister must create the statutory obligation and the services will follow because of the legal obligation.
I respectfully suggest to the Deputy that the live horse and get grass philosophy was adopted by the Government of which he was a member, which was prepared to allow parents of children with disabilities to go to the Supreme Court before action was taken. My view is that we must show our bona fides in terms of the allocation of resources, the making available of additional posts and, above all, in creating statutory entitlements to education, something provided for in the Education Act. Also, the Government must state that children are entitled to these resources as a matter of right, something we have done following a decision taken by the Government last November. I have direct experience of the establishment of the national education psychological service. One of the difficulties in recruiting 25 additional psychologists this year will be ensuring we have that number of sufficiently qualified people to take up the posts. Before introducing legislation which we cannot subsequently implement, it is wise and proper to invest money and resources and do everything we possibly can to provide the basic resources and needs to which the children are entitled.
I put it to the Minister that the situation concerning litigation is not over, something of which he is aware. Does the Minister agree a permanent monument in terms of dealing with this problem has to be in legislative form which will bind all future Governments?
I think the permanent monument will be in terms of the additional posts and resources allocated. The Deputy should acknowledge that the response of the Judiciary to the Government's initiative has been welcoming and most of the cases are being worked through the courts towards resolution. The courts are continuing to monitor the Government's response, which is a legitimate exercise. However, that does not mean everything has been achieved. We have some distance to travel, but today's announcement, for example, of reducing all teacher ratios in special education classes to those recommended by the special education review body is a further demonstration of our commitment to the issue. It is surprising that the special education review body reported at the beginning of the decade and that it is only today we are in a position to fulfil its recommendations in terms of staff ratios. One must ask why this was not done over the past five or six years.
The Minister's party was in Government for most of that period.
