I call Deputy Emer Currie to speak on the first Topical Issue matter.
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Special Educational Needs
I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. This is a question that she raised today during Questions on Policy or Legislation. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, for being here, and I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, who cannot be here, in advance for his written response. I hope that, based on this, he can meet us and other Deputies about this issue, since I know it is an issue he is interested in.
The Department of Education has a policy of opening special classes for children with additional needs whose needs are not being met in mainstream classes. The 3,336 special classes open at the moment are mainly for children with autism. We need more of them, we need to get better at opening them and we need a system of forward planning based on our current projections of children who require additional supports. What I do not understand is why the Department of Education therefore no longer supports the opening of new reading schools or classes. I believe no such classes have been opened since 2017. In fact, there are only 14 reading classes and four special schools nationally for children with severe dyslexia. This is simply not enough. In an ideal world, the right educational supports could be made available to children in a mainstream setting. I recognise the work and increase in the number of special education teachers all across the country, but the reality of those supports is different in the classroom. Those supports are severely stretched. Families, Dyslexia Ireland and National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, psychologists want reading classes and reading schools to be opened. In my experience, there are families who feel, even with the right educational supports, that intensive intervention in a specialised class focusing on literacy and reading skills for up to two years is an all-round more inclusive approach and experience than children coming in and out of classrooms with a special education teacher. They do not see a reading class or a reading school as a failure of inclusion; they see it as an enabler of inclusion in the long term. We ask the Minister to look again at this policy and at opening reading classes for children with severe dyslexia.
I would like to add to the great points that Deputy Currie made. If you look up online the difficulties that children with dyslexia face, you will often find something like the following statement:
Dyslexia causes difficulties with reading accuracy and fluency, spelling, writing, working at speed, holding information in mind while working on it, and processing verbal information. It can impact maths and other curriculum areas, and many dyslexics feel exhausted and challenged every day in school.
As a former SNA, I know what a struggle with dyslexia looks like in a mainstream classroom. It looks like this. It is John who misses school a lot. It is Katie who never has her homework done. It is John who pretends he is not listening when the teacher asks him to answer a question that is on the whiteboard, because he does not understand what is written on the whiteboard. It is Katie who goes out on a break and is aggressive and angry in the school yard because she just spent two hours in a classroom when she did not know what was going on and could not understand what the teacher was putting on the board, so she feels frustrated and powerless. It is John who feels sick to his stomach at the thought of being asked to read out loud. Can you imagine what that feels like? Can you put yourselves in the shoes of John or Katie?
We need to do better for our children with dyslexia in primary and secondary schools. I am working alongside a DEIS school in Kilkenny, which says that 10% of pupils in the school have dyslexia, but they have no extra support other than the standard learning supports that are in every school. Children with dyslexia need specific supports, however. The Wilson programme is the gold standard. It works by teaching phonics to dyslexic children in a way that dyslexic children can understand. We only need to look at the transformative educational experience that children with autism have experienced. I will come back in in my second contribution.
I want to stress that enabling students with additional educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for this Government. I taught in the education system and taught students with additional needs, so I understand the issue. It is the Government's priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. It is important to highlight that the majority of children with additional educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. For children with more complex needs, special classes are provided. For children with the most complex needs, special school places are provided.
At present, as Deputy Currie outlined, there are 14 reading classes and four special schools to support students with severe dyslexia and I want to acknowledge the excellent work that they do. I take the Deputies' points that more reading classes for children with dyslexia would be a positive step to support their educational needs. Around 15,000 special education teachers are employed in mainstream schools to support students with additional needs. In practical terms, this means that schools get a substantial additional teaching allocation to support children with special educational needs who are in mainstream classes. The additional resources are intended to support students with the greatest levels of need, including those with dyslexia or severe dyslexia.
Of course, the importance of building the capacity of teachers in mainstream schools to meet the needs of all students is recognised. To support this, we provide 338 funded places each year to teachers to attend postgraduate special educational needs programmes. The NCSE offers dedicated professional learning opportunities for teachers supporting students with additional needs. NEPS also provides professional learning opportunities that are available to all primary and post-primary school teachers on supporting children and young people with literacy difficulties, including dyslexia. Funding is also made available to schools for the purchase of specialised equipment such as computers or software to assist children with special educational needs, including children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. Schools can apply to the NCSE through their local special educational needs organiser, SENO, for such support. The need for any additional provision or resources for schools to support students with dyslexia will be kept under constant review by the NCSE and the Department. I reiterate the point that I made at the outset. I take on board the points that the Deputies raised. I believe that more reading classes for children with dyslexia would be a positive step to support their educational needs.
I want to acknowledge how significant that sentence in the written response is. I take the Minister of State's point that more reading classes for children with dyslexia would be a positive step to support their educational needs, because there has been a policy of not opening reading classes and reading schools. Parents are having to fight for those places and then have to travel very long distances in order to access them. It should not be like that. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government regarding additional time for exams and assistive technology. We need to see progress. We need to see dyslexia being put firmly on the agenda for special education, delivering for these families and children who really need it.
To follow on from what I was saying, we only need to look at the transformative educational experience that children with autism are experiencing in Ireland due to the introduction of many more special educational classrooms. Reading classes in a mainstream setting would allow these targeted supports that I have mentioned to be delivered to children with dyslexia.
It would also allow them to stay in their class in their local school with their friends and siblings. Every parish could have a reading class in the local school. Children with dyslexia often have very good social skills and they do not find the social side of school challenging.
I invite the Minister to visit the school in Kilkenny that is already fighting this fight. She can meet the children, including John and Katie. We must own up to the fact that the current way we look after children with dyslexia with resources and SET is not sufficient for children with dyslexia.
Between 5% and 8% of our population have dyslexia, but 30% of entrepreneurs have dyslexia. Children with dyslexia can be incredibly bright, but they are not able to access the information because they need extra support with reading classes.
I thank both Deputies for their advocacy in this area. As I stated in my opening remarks, I do understand it. I taught in the education system myself. I have met children who are similar to the children in the examples given by the Deputies.
It is important to also put in context that the Department will spend €2.9 billion this year on special education, one quarter of the entire education budget, rightly so, because those students require the supports the Deputies advocate for on the floor of the Dáil. More than 28,000 children are being supported in special schools and classes and the number of special classes has increased by 100% since 2020 through investment by the previous Government, which will continue under this Government.
It is the statutory responsibility of the NCSE to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision each year. As already outlined, there is provision for a further 400 new special classes for the coming school year. A total of 336 of these new classes have already been sanctioned.
I take on board the point specific points about the reading classes. I will bring them back to the Minister for Education. I hear the passion of the Deputies on the issue.
Road Safety
I am pleased the Topical Issue matter I raise has been selected for discussion. It relates to safety concerns around the use of signage-only zebra crossings, as are permitted under Department of Transport guidelines from February 2024.
Pedestrian crossings are something I often sought as a councillor, as I believe they are key to encouraging active travel, especially for older pedestrians and children. We want the latter to get in the habit of walking to school and crossing roads safely. As a local representative, much like the Minister of State and other Deputies, one of the most common requests we get is to consider the installation of a pedestrian crossing, whether it is controlled or uncontrolled. When we think of a pedestrian crossing, many of us think of the controlled version or the classic one which is known as the type A crossing - the one with the flashing beacons - but I understand how we have arrived at the situation where type B crossings are the ones that are being introduced. Recently, I reviewed the results of the 2022 pilot study by the NTA which evaluated the effectiveness of the signage-only crossings. In the eight pilot schemes, it was found that they were safe, effective and economical.
I am aware of what drove the need to consider these types of crossing. It is due to the reduced installation and maintenance costs, but we must also ensure they are safe not only for drivers but pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.
The reason I raise the matter today is because we have seen the installation of these pedestrian crossings at scale in my constituency, in areas like the Old Lucan Road, Palmerstown, Main Street, Newcastle, and Castle Road and St. Finian's, Lucan, as well, where local representatives have sought the consideration of the installation of pedestrian crossings. The local authorities have responded, in adherence to national guidelines, by installing the signage-only crossings.
However, in the same breath, I have also been inundated in recent weeks with concerns raised by road users, be they pedestrians, drivers or cyclists, about the safety concerns arising from these crossings. Many of them relate to a lack of visibility for drivers approaching the crossings. Concerns have arisen for pedestrians because they realise that drivers do not notice the crossings or, for whatever reason, they do not react in time to stop. Perhaps it is because they do not see the luminous strip or the signage that is there, either because public lighting in the area is not sufficient, it is obstructed by trees, or there is not enough advance warning given on the roads.
Accordingly, there is a loss of trust in these crossings as a safe way for pedestrians to cross the road. However, I believe there are still economical engineering solutions that would enhance the safety of these crossings. We are familiar with Belisha beacons. I understand the rationale of the NTA to move away from these beacons because of the excessive wiring and maintenance costs attached to them but I ask that the Department would consider the installation of solar powered or battery powered Belisha beacons, which are economical and do not require the heavy wiring and maintenance costs attached to the original crossings. I fully understand the NTA's position because one of the frustrations I have had with controlled crossings being opened in recent years is that ESB Networks is under incredible pressure, and that leads to a delay with the installation of pedestrian crossings.
There is a happy medium. It is worth looking at innovative new technology like the solar powered battery Belisha beacons that do not require wiring. We could also consider other enhancements for signage-only crossings. I refer to more advanced markings on the road to indicate to drivers that there is a crossing ahead. I am also interested in hearing from the Department on whether research has been done on how driver behaviour must be influenced and on educated to help people to adjust to the new crossings. We must all encourage active travel and safety, but a review of the design standards is necessary to enhance safety for all road users.
I apologise as I have a cold, but I will try to get through the reply. I thank Deputy Shane Moynihan for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport today. As the Deputy rightly points out, in 2022, the Department of Transport, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland sought to investigate the provision of pilot schemes to assess the feasibility of applying to the Irish context the experience of other countries where zebra crossings without flashing orange beacons are in place.
The need for the pilot scheme, as the Deputy outlined, arose from the desire to increase the number of safe crossing locations for pedestrians and active travel use in a cost-effective and sustainable manner across the country. The proposals contained within the feasibility study were investigated in two pilot studies. The first study involved the NTA's cycle design office, in collaboration with the Department and the active travel teams in Limerick City and County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The NTA began a pilot scheme for a new type of zebra crossing. The new layout comprises the installation of eight new crossings, five in Limerick and three in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, without flashing orange beacons. The beacons were replaced by signage and used in low-volume traffic areas.
The second study was undertaken by TII. This pilot study focused on a low-cost measure to improve pedestrian safety, using high-visibility uncontrolled crossing, HVC, markings instead of flashing orange beacons on a national road. Both pilot projects show there is a case for utilising zebra crossings without flashing beacons in certain situations, and subject to certain criteria. This does not eliminate the need for zebra crossings with flashing beacons, but does allow for the wider roll-out of zebra crossings without the need for more expensive electrical connections to the beacons, as outlined by Deputy Moynihan. The utilisation of a sign or no sign for these crossings is shown to be widely used across Europe.
The results of the first pilot scheme have demonstrated that zebra crossings without Belisha beacons could be suitable in the Irish context. The report recommends that consideration is given to wider implementation of this type of zebra crossing in certain situations. A sign with a fluorescent yellow border is recommended as the only permitted sign type as it is more visible and recognisable.
It is further recommended that this type of crossing should only be used where there is a posted speed limit of 50 km/h or lower, specified low traffic volumes, good pedestrian-driver visibility, and the crossing location to have adequate street lighting. In addition, the crossing should be on a flat-top ramp or raised platform.
The second pilot and trial undertaken by TII at four sites in Donegal has demonstrated that zebra crossings without beacons are suitable in rural towns carrying national traffic. Therefore, the report recommends that the pilot and trial sites are retained as permanent pedestrian crossings and that additional crossings, where required, are implemented in line with certain criteria such as operational speeds being low and checked prior to site selection, the crossing area and approach being clearly visible to approaching drivers, only single lane two-way traffic, and the necessity for the crossing to be well lit.
The visibility of the crossing can be further increased by providing raised tables or platforms to provide maximum visibility to drivers and to provide additional comfort for visually impaired users. In addition, parking must not obstruct the visibility of the footpath on the approaches to the crossing. The study stated that this type of crossing could be implemented elsewhere on the national road network in towns and villages subject to certain site and layout parameters and recommendations.
I take the Deputy's point about solar power and other matters he raised about further advance warning and I will bring his points to the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien.
I thank the Minister of State for engaging with a number of the points I raised. I will make a number of observations on the guidelines. For areas such as Newcastle and Lucan where there is two-lane traffic, there also areas such as Main Street or Castle Road which are not low-volume traffic areas. In the first instance, I request that updated guidance be issued to local authorities so that they do specify how they are determining that an area is a low-volume traffic area. Certainly, Main Street, Newcastle, and Castle Road, Lucan, would not be areas I would see as having low-volume traffic. As I do not think they would satisfy the points, that updated guidance should be there.
It sounds a little trite but I also ask that any inspection of these crossings happens at night. I have often received responses from engineers that they inspected a crossing, probably at 4 p.m. when it is bright, so they are not necessarily assessing the level of public lighting as well.
I appreciate the Minister of State taking on board the issue of solar-powered beacons. It is a cost-effective solution. Drivers are used to seeing beacons that give advance warning to pedestrians, but they also give confidence to the pedestrians who use them as well, as they know a signal to slow down has been given to drivers.
I appreciate the Minister of State taking on board the need to think of the advance road markings and I would point out that beacons like this are used in the safe route to schools schemes deployed around the country by the National Transport Authority. The children crossing signs, for example, have battery installations in the back of those signs so there is precedent for using those sorts of technology. Having researched this issue, a large number of Irish companies supply these sorts of beacons so it is worthwhile to engage with them. It enhances the safety of these crossings as well. Notwithstanding this, I ask for the issuing of updated guidance to the council on how to define a low-volume traffic area, and to make sure engineers are examining these crossings when there is no daylight.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and I will take his points back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. It is important to say the Government is committed to further increasing the number of safe crossing locations for pedestrians and vulnerable road users. We need to provide additional options that are not reliant on those connections because of the capacity constraints and the construction time and ongoing operational costs. I hear the Deputy's point about the solar element of this. There are now two options over and above the flashing beacon. I will reiterate that it is not that we will not have any flashing beacon areas into the future. It is important to highlight that. Of course these matters are always kept under review and if further guidance needs to be issued to the local authorities in that regard, that is something we can both take up with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, together.
Irish Communities Abroad
I am thankful for the opportunity to raise this issue. Coventry was once the most Irish city in England and in the early 1960s, there were 20,000 Irish-born people living in Coventry. The industries there attracted Irish people who worked in factories, on the buses and in hospitals. They built the ring road, housing estates and the new cathedral. The Irish community flourished. People came together in clubs, trade unions, voluntary organisations and in their churches. They represented their people and others on the city council and went to areas such as Spon End, Coundon, Radford, Jordan and Gosford Street.
In the 1950s, for example, 650 Irish people used to attend the Banba Club on an average Saturday night. Others went to church clubs or to pubs such as St. Brendan's or the Kerryman, the Bricklayers Arms, the Hand and Heart, or the Four Provinces. As a whole, the Irish in Britain returned €3 billion in remittances between 1939 and 1969 to families who were left behind when they were forced to emigrate from here.
Their stories were celebrated by Tom Murphy in one of his plays and by John B. Keane. It produced artists such as Hazel O'Connor and Julianne Regan. Nowadays, the 1950s generation are ageing but their legacy remains. The Coventry Irish Centre performs outstanding work for their community out of Eaton House, which is near the railway station. Great credit is due to people such as Simon McCarthy, Caroline Brogan, Gráinne Fellowes, Liz Flannelly, Manisha O'Malley and Margaret Campbell. They help approximately 1,000 people per year by befriending, health outreach, with welfare advice and with their passports.
As the Minister of State is probably aware, the emigrant support scheme assists with the courses and funds the Coventry Irish Centre but does not help to secure any long-term premises or a secure home. The Coventry Irish Centre has had to move five times during the past ten years. The Coventry Irish Centre is one of three Irish survivor specialist services in England. It meets survivors who by now have a long-term and positive connection with the charity. They gain mutual support by being part of a group with a unique history and experience and who were wronged by this State. In Coventry, they help survivors from all over the midlands. There are two other English-based survivor services. One operates from the London Irish Centre, Camden Square, London, and the other is Irish Community Care and it deals with people in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Those two centres have their own private offices where they meet with survivors and host social events. They help them with housing and other issues.
The Coventry Irish Centre does not have any secure or long-term premises. Like the other centres, it helps survivors to apply for the mother and baby home scheme, the Magdalen laundries scheme, and offer social supports and networks such as outings and lunch clubs, which are vital for people and for those survivors, in particular. We owe the Irish people in Britain more than this and the temporary accommodation the Coventry Irish Centre has. I ask the Government to consider additional support for the midlands Irish survivors service, which have helped more than 500 survivors in total and to consider funding a long-term premises where they can meet in private and are not mixed with everyone else. They need extra attention and care. I am asking at a time when there is an awful lot of money in this country that we give something back to those communities and to those Irish people in Britain who need it most.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I’m answering on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond. I am fully committed, as is the Department, to strengthening the bonds with all Irish communities overseas. Central to this work is the emigrant support programme, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Since its inception in 2004, the programme has provided funding of over €250 million to 900 organisations in 51 countries. Supporting the most vulnerable and marginalised Irish emigrants across the world is at the heart of this programme. In 2025, almost €16,500,000 will be granted in support of strengthening ties with the diaspora and our communities overseas. Britain is our close neighbour and home to the largest Irish-born community outside Ireland.
The 2021 census documents just over 500,000 people born on the island of Ireland living in England and Wales, with around 200,000 of those born in Northern Ireland.
The Government has provided financial support to Irish community organisations in Britain since 1984. Last year, we allocated ESP funding of over €7.8 million to 112 organisations in Britain in respect of 202 projects. This represented just under half of the total ESP budget. We funded a range of projects from large welfare support in cities with traditionally large Irish communities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham to smaller events and cultural and heritage projects in places such as Bristol, Nottingham and York.
Our engagement in Britain goes beyond financial support. Every year the embassy serves as a community hub, hosting events in collaboration with organisations which might not have the budget, space or networking connections to host alone. This includes supporting Irish artists but also hosting traditionally excluded and marginalised groups such as events for Pride and an annual St. Brigid’s Day event celebrating Irish women in Britain.
Applications for the 2025-26 emigrant support programme are now being assessed and details on the grants will be made available over the coming months. Full details of all ESP funding to date in Britain can be found on the www.ireland.ie website.
An important part of Ireland’s diaspora strategy is a commitment to heal the relationship with those who left Ireland in crisis and survivors of institutional abuse. Britain is home to the largest number of victims of institutional abuse, outside Ireland. It is estimated that 30% of all survivors live in Britain. The emigrant support programme provides funding to community organisations in Britain supporting survivors in Britain such as ICAP, the London Irish Centre, Coventry Irish Society and Fréa in the north of England. We fund eight full-time posts and two part-time posts to ensure dedicated support is provided to the survivor community. We are working with relevant UK Government departments to ensure access to compensation schemes does not negatively affect other welfare supports.
The Government is fully committed to delivering sustained investment in all our communities abroad, particularly in Britain. As we look to the future, we will ensure that we continue to prioritise projects that support a dynamic and diverse diaspora and address the needs of the most vulnerable.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The support that is provided in the scheme, which is administered by the Department of foreign affairs is very much appreciated. It is appreciated by the clients, the survivors and elderly Irish people from all over the midlands and also by the staff who help them with their needs.
However, the policy within Government is that the Government does not support either capital funding or long- or even medium-term premises. The difficulty with providing these services is that they need to be secure and need in the same place for a protracted time. Eaton House is in a very good location but the Coventry Irish Society has no security of tenure in that building, which is due for demolition at some stage. Its lease is up in May and it is hoping to get another three-year lease. However, as I already mentioned it has moved five times in the past ten years, which is not really satisfactory. Something extra should be given to this community on a once-off basis given the amount of work it does with the older Irish community in general and given the amount of work that it does in helping the survivors - as the Minister of State has noted, 30% of survivors of institutional abuse live in Britain.
The other ones in Yorkshire, Lancashire and London have appropriate premises, but the Coventry centre does not. I am asking the Government to look at this and provide some sort of medium-term help on a once-off basis with leasehold or to allow the society to purchase a building so it can provide the best of care which is what is owed to the people who use the services.
I thank the Deputy for his advocacy in this area. Any time we get a chance to talk about the diaspora in this Chamber is welcome. We can see the value of sustained investment in our communities abroad. I had the opportunity to visit Thailand and the Philippines where I saw at first hand how our diaspora engage in their local communities and the value that they add in those countries, as well as bringing our sporting, cultural and heritage traditions to those areas. The Government will continue to support those endeavours because we see the value in it.
The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is also committed to reducing the barriers for returning emigrants to Ireland and there is funding in that respect from the Department of foreign affairs. The returning-to-Ireland portal on the citizens information website is very useful. I take on board the points the Deputy has raised. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, on the specifics of the issue. It is important to re-emphasise the value of the programme that is in place through the significant and sustained investment the Government has made. I reiterate that the 2025-26 applications under that will be notified in the period ahead.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 4.36 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 1 Aibreán 2025.
The Dáil adjourned at 4.36 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 April 2025.