Education (Inclusion of Persons) Bill 2023: First Stage

Deputy Chris Andrews

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend and extend the Education Act 1998, and, for that purpose, to provide for the inclusion of information from special educational needs organisers in school planning; to provide for inclusion policies in schools and to provide recognised disabled persons organisations with a role in agreeing the composition of boards of management of a school; to amend the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to provide for enhanced planning and co-ordination in relation to school planning areas; and to provide for related matters.

This Bill is the product of engagement with autism advocacy groups such as Involve Autism and Neurodiversity – Irishtown, Ringsend and Pearse Street. There is a strong feeling among parents of autistic children that their voice is not being heard by school boards of management. This Bill would go some way towards correcting that imbalance. In many schools across the country, children with autism are transported out of their communities to schools that are great distances from their homes because the required numbers of class places are not available. This problem is particularly acute in south Dublin and Dublin 6W. In Dublin 2 and Dublin 4, the picture is not much better for autistic children. Regularly, there is resistance to opening autism places in schools, and this is replicated right around the country.

The Bill would strengthen the voice of those with autism on the boards of schools. It would also mean issues relating to autistic children would have to be raised at board level. In bringing the Bill together, we consulted a range of stakeholders, including principals of many schools, AsIAm, Neurodiversity – Irishtown, Ringsend and Pearse Street, Alan Power of Involve Autism, and the National Council for Special Education. The Department of Education officials were particularly helpful. I acknowledge the commitment of the Minister of State at the Department, Deputy Madigan, who has done considerable work and is clearly committed to improving the lot of children with autism. I acknowledge the work of all involved.

This Bill would not solve every problem but would be an important step in strengthening the rights of autistic children and their families. We all understand the challenge faced by autistic children in the school setting, so it is important that their voice be heard clearly at school board meetings.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an Teachta Andrews as an obair atá déanta aige sa phíosa reachtaíochta seo mar is é a rinne formhór na hoibre uirthi. Is píosa reachtaíochta luachmhar atá inti. I commend Deputy Andrews. While I was happy to assist him with several elements, the bulk of the work was conducted by him and his office in consultation with the groups he has mentioned, namely Involve Autism, Dublin 6, and Neurodiversity – Irishtown, Ringsend and Pearse Street.

This legislation is valuable and would assist in several key ways. It would elevate the voices of parents and advocates from disability organisations. It would do certain things regarding data, to which I will return. The key point, which the National Council for Special Education and the Department need to focus on, is that we have much of the basis for the data and need to be able to marshal this in such a way that we are not scrambling for places every year. This is not an issue in the same area every year but it is recurring in places in Dublin Bay South, Kildare and Cork, where parents are struggling to find places in special schools and special classes, particularly post-primary special classes. That is not good enough. Schools that are resisting may have reasonable concerns but if they are not reasonable and if schools have no reasonable grounds for not opening a special class, pressure should be put on them.

The Bill achieves several objectives. It establishes the educational partners that should be consulted. It puts recognised disabled persons' organisations on a statutory basis, which is important. It allows for the publication of the cost of transport, which is eye-watering in Deputy Andrews's area. It is an absolute scandal, really, and the waste is remarkable. The Bill would require boards to incorporate inclusion policies into their admissions policies. There could be exceptions, particularly in the case of small schools. The Minister could lay down regulations in that regard.

Crucially, the Bill would strengthen the power of the special educational needs organisers. I know from dealing with them that, as in any job, there are very good ones and others who are not so good, but in some instances the difficulty is that their remit is not crystal clear. The Bill would clarify their role and allow them to recommend to schools in a more direct way the opening of special places. All in all, this is very valuable legislation that could assist right across the State, particularly where the crisis is particularly severe, such as the south side of Dublin.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 1.20 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 2 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 1.20 p.m. and resumed at 2 p.m.

Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Jul 2023