Richard Boyd Barrett: Govt Tried to Short-Change Special Needs
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Minister at the Budget Scrutiny Committee after the Department of Public Expenditure revealed an extra 640 million for education, largely for special needs. He argues that money was allocated only after sustained protests by school communities and that many children remain without promised assessments and supports.
Richard Boyd Barrett confronts ministers over the Budget Scrutiny Committee briefing that an extra 640 million was added to education spending. He says this allocation appears driven by pressure from parents, teachers, principals and SNAs rather than prior government planning, and questions whether the funds will meet needs.
Boyd Barrett attributes the extra allocation to protests by school communities and the SNA campaign, arguing that without those actions the government would have short-changed children’s rights to education. He stresses the role parents and school staff played in bringing the issue to public attention and forcing a response.
The speech highlights ongoing failures in assessments and the delivery of services to children on waiting lists. Boyd Barrett warns that assessments alone are not enough if, once completed, children still do not receive the supports, SNA hours or special class placements they legally require.
He calls for clear guarantees: that children will get the places and resources they need, that the alternative circular drawn up by parents and teachers will be seriously considered, and that the government will engage with the SNA campaign to vindicate children’s rights to education.
Budget revelation
Richard Boyd Barrett confronts ministers over the Budget Scrutiny Committee briefing that an extra 640 million was added to education spending. He says this allocation appears driven by pressure from parents, teachers, principals and SNAs rather than prior government planning, and questions whether the funds will meet needs.
Community pressure forced change
Boyd Barrett attributes the extra allocation to protests by school communities and the SNA campaign, arguing that without those actions the government would have short-changed children’s rights to education. He stresses the role parents and school staff played in bringing the issue to public attention and forcing a response.
Assessment and delivery failures
The speech highlights ongoing failures in assessments and the delivery of services to children on waiting lists. Boyd Barrett warns that assessments alone are not enough if, once completed, children still do not receive the supports, SNA hours or special class placements they legally require.
Demands and next steps
He calls for clear guarantees: that children will get the places and resources they need, that the alternative circular drawn up by parents and teachers will be seriously considered, and that the government will engage with the SNA campaign to vindicate children’s rights to education.
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Transcript
Minister, at the Budget Scrutiny Committee today we were informed by the Department of Public Expenditure there's going to be 640 million extra, isn't that right, for the education and they explained that was largely to do with special needs. Now what that, to me, what that says is that were it not for the protests of school communities, parents, teachers, principals, SNAs, the government would have been, as a minimum, would have been giving 640 million too little to special needs. Short-changing children in terms of their right to an education and the educational supports that they need. On top of, of course, their failure to deliver on the assessments that any children lead, who are left on waiting lists and when they get the assessments never ever get the services or hardly get any services. So the legal and moral rights of our children being let down and only because of a crisis and the protests of school communities are the government forced to find some additional money, almost certainly won't be enough to actually do it, but insofar as extra money has been allocated it's allocated because school communities revolt against the government's attempt at swinging SNA cuts in many of the schools and even now I don't believe we're not getting clear guarantees that everybody will get special class places that they should have in September and we're not getting a clear commitment that the alternative circularism put together as against the circular that led to that crisis is going to be adopted by the government and there's going to be a serious engagement with the SNA campaign where parents who are stressed, who have to deal with all these hardships, had to go to all the effort of putting together an alternative circular on special needs because the government had failed so catastrophically. So give the parents, give the children the commitments they need, they will have their places, they will have their resources, you will engage with the circular and vindicate the rights of children to education.