Tánaiste defends Government after coming under fire over special education centres proposal
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Leo Varadkar has said that Minister for Special Education Josepha Madigan is willing to use her powers to compel schools to provide additional classes to ensure children with special education needs can be accommodated.
It comes as the Government has been slammed in the Dáil for the way in which a proposal for so-called special education centres was handled.
The plan was reported late on Wednesday night, with Ms Madigan tweeting to confirm the move. However, she said that it was neither a medium nor long-term solution to an acute lack of places for children needing specialist education.
The Government is planning to create special education centres as an emergency response to the shortage of appropriate school places for vulnerable children.
In a statement, Ms Madigan said that the plan is "in development and is still at a very early age".
The Tánaiste said on Thursday that no other government has been more committed to special education.
“This government for the first time, we have a dedicated minister, Minister Madigan, with a budget of €2bn,” he said.
“For every €4 now we spend in schools, one of those is spent on special education.
“Just in the last year, 300 additional special classes opened up in mainstream schools, so it's very much the policy of government to mainstream and integrate kids with special educational needs, to make sure that they get the education they're entitled to in their local school in their community, and that's what we're absolutely committed to.
“Sometimes we can run into problems and home tuition has to be offered as an option or in some cases, a special school is the right option for children with very precise needs but for the vast majority of children, what we're providing them with is mainstream classes in mainstream schools and the minister has the power to require schools to provide additional mainstream classes if that's necessary, and she's willing to use that.”
During Leaders' Questions earlier on Thursday, Labour's Duncan Smith said there are 80 children waiting for a school place in Dublin and said that families of these children were distressed at how the news was reported.
"We learned from leaks of new plans to create emergency special school centers. We don't have any detailed public information about what is planned. But the minister hastily did confirm the proposal last night in a series of response tweets. This is no way to make major public announcements — specifically on areas so sensitive and so important.
"We don't know if these are school buildings or prefabs or what type of facility is being proposed. This is causing huge concern and distress for parents fighting for a place for their child.
"They know all too well that these short-term segregated solutions will quickly become the accepted norm. There has been no consultation with advocacy groups though I understand that consultation has been hastily arranged. What was reported in the is that it is an interim emergency solution for five special education needs centers to be created in Dublin as a stopgap measure.
"The language is appalling."
Mr Smith said that the plans would see 24 children taken into each centre and this was "totally at odds" with what Ms Madigan announced last week when she said that she would use her Section 37A powers to increase the number of special education places in mainstream schools. Mr Smith said that this plan would allow "schools which don't get their act together get off the hook".
In response, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that there had been no abandonment of the Government's policy of integration in education. He said that 22 additional places had been secured in his Dublin West constituency at a meeting on Wednesday night and defended the Government's "commitment to children with special education needs". He said that families of children affected were being consulted on Thursday afternoon.
However, Mr Varadkar said that Mr Smith was correct that "language is important".
"I think the language that was used on Wednesday night was not the best language. No parent wants to be told that their child is being offered a stop-gap solution and I don't like the use of the term autism centre because it sounds othering."
Ms Madigan's statement said that "families can be assured that the Department and NCSE remain committed to opening special classes as quickly as possible and this proposal offers further opportunities to support children and parents while we work to deliver extra special class places".