I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important issue. In Ballyferriter there is a scandal involving three young boys who have Down's syndrome and who are being educated in a small and cramped office in the school. This is intolerable when one considers that our economy is supposed to be the envy of Europe. The lack of facilities at Ballyferriter national school to enable the boys, two six year olds and an eight year old, to access education is a damning indictment of our society, Government and economy.
The room which has acted as a classroom for the boys for over a year is supposed to be an office for the school principal. It was never meant to be used full time but rather as a place where the principal could have meetings and work with a degree of privacy; it was certainly never designed as a classroom. Adequate space, facilities and a private room in which these children can avail of one to one attention from a speech therapist and whatever other services they require should be available. Such facilities are what children with special needs deserve as a right in a country which can afford to introduce special tax amnesty arrangements for offshore account holders.
The conditions currently encountered by the boys are prehistoric and utterly unacceptable. The boys are unable to use adult toilet facilities and have their nappies changed on the toilet floor, which is humiliating. It is beyond comprehension that the request for additional facilities made by parents and children from the school have not been fulfilled. Ballyferriter national school has very basic requirements – an additional classroom, improved toilet facilities, a room for speech therapy, a library and a little playground. The demands are not exactly excessive; nonetheless they have been put on the long finger at the Department of Education and Science for too long.
The needs of those with disabilities do not make headlines, but the scandal at Ballyferriter national school should have the Administration reeling. The least that three young children should expect is maximum support and extra facilities to guarantee the best possible quality of life in later years. The State's denial of these facilities is beyond belief. The Government has made special appointments to oversee certain projects, specifically to the Bertie bowl, which will have a limited impact on the well-being of the weakest in society. It is time we got our priorities right. Three young children are being denied the right to a decent education, a right which is a fundamental pillar of a developed society. They and their parents feel agitated and unhappy, but few would blame them as they deserve better.
I have a ream of correspondence from the Department of Education and Science, a Department that cannot say when the facilities will be provided because of the volume of building projects under way. In this House tonight, I do not want to hear that recycled line as it is cold comfort to the children, their parents and teachers. I want to pay tribute to the children's parents and the teachers in Ballyferriter who work in terrible conditions to provide a wonderful education for the children.
