Paul Murphy: Government Cuts Deny Special Needs Children Essential Support
Paul Murphy spoke in the Dáil on 11 June 2024 about cuts to special needs provision, accusing the government of making and denying cruel reductions to supports for children with special needs. He argued for fully state-funded, inclusive summer provision and for the reversal of cuts he says force families to struggle.
Alleged cuts and government response
The speaker said the Taoiseach and the minister denied there were cuts while defending reductions that cut capitation for summer provision from 45 euros to 30 euros and reduce the special needs allocation in one in three schools. He described the government’s refusal to admit or argue for the cuts as scandalous and criticised what he called a penny-pinching instinct on essential public services.
Impact on summer provision and families
He highlighted that many children are excluded from summer provision in schools and cannot access private summer camps, leaving parents to pay hundreds of euros or, in many cases, with no option at all. He gave local examples, saying in some areas children who qualify for two weeks of July provision find no teachers or SNAs available, and recounted a case where a child could only get home tuition after a long search for a teacher.
Teacher recruitment and staffing crisis
The address blamed recruitment and retention problems for the lack of special education teachers, citing housing and cost-of-living pressures and a policy of offering mainly part-time hours to new entrants. He quoted figures that there are 122,000 registered teachers but only 70,000 employed in teaching jobs, and warned that hundreds of unfilled posts lead to cancelled classes and lost subjects.
Proposed amendment and continuity of supports
The amendment he outlined seeks to prevent any school receiving a reduction in allocation, to provide additional resources to ensure adequate numbers of CNOs, and to dedicate supports for transitions from early years to primary and from primary to secondary. He stressed that assessment and supports should follow the child through education rather than forcing families to restart assessments at each stage.
Case highlighted - Sam Lewis
He raised the case of Sam Lewis, a non-verbal autistic child whose applications for a secondary school place he said had been rejected at 15 different schools. He noted the case had been raised in the Dáil, attracted a protest at the Department of Education and meetings with the NCSE, but that parents had received reassurances without concrete action and called for urgent action for Sam.
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I have to say it was infuriating listening to the Taoiseach earlier on this issue, listening to the Minister earlier, saying like butter wouldn't melt in their mouth that there's no cuts happening here, telling people that basically 30 euros is the same as 45 euros, when is a cut not a cut when it's being done by the government to kids with special needs? It's absolutely scandalous, and it's scandalous that they also won't admit it, won't make the argument for the cuts, just continue to try and deny it, and suggest those who are pointing it out, those who are arguing against it, are in some way misleading people. Special needs provision in this country continues to be a disgrace, it's welcome that we're discussing this motion, and the Minister and the Government should hang their heads in shame at what they do, in forcing families to struggle on a daily basis, we've all been out canvassing, we've met a lot of people, presumably, and the issue comes up again and again and again, and for all those people, understandably, it is the dominant issue, because they're struggling to get, for their kids, what their needs absolutely have. Summer provision obviously needs to be massively improved, if kids with special needs excluded from summer provision in schools, unable to access private summer camps, we know that thousands and thousands of parents in this country are forced to shell out hundreds of euros over the summer for private summer camps, because of the absence of universal affordable public childcare, but then parents of kids with special needs, don't even have that option, because taking kids with special needs wouldn't be as profitable for those private providers, I mean, what we need is obvious, it's 100% state funded, publicly run system, of inclusive summer provision, that caters for all children, including children with special needs, that should not be too much to ask for. In Thalla, as around the country, there are lots of kids with special needs that qualify for the two weeks of July provision, only to find out that no teachers or SNAs are available to provide it. One woman told me that her grandson was last able to access summer provision in his own school two years ago, last year he was forced to do home tuition, instead after a long search for a teacher to find it. It is incredible that in 2024 the state puts the responsibility on parents to find a special needs teacher for their children, imagine that was how our schools in general operated. There would be uproar, so why should it be different for children with special needs? We know the reason it's so difficult to find special education teachers is the same reason it's difficult to find teachers in general. The housing, cost of living crisis, particularly bad in Dublin, where rent and house prices are higher, but no cost of living allowance is provided. The government has done nothing to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis for teachers going on years at this time. Every year there are hundreds of unfilled teaching posts across the country, resulting in cancelled classes, subjects being dropped and a severe lack of special education teachers. According to the ASTI there are 122,000 registered teachers, but only 70,000 of them are employed in teaching jobs in this country. It is no mystery why that's the case, when there's a policy of offering only part time hours to new entrants, combined with the housing and cost of living crisis. The result is emigration of people who could be teaching here. In the midst of this, rather than increasing wages for teachers, increasing funding to schools, the government is actually making cuts. Cutting capitation payment for summer provision from 45 euros a week to 30 euros. And cutting the special needs allocation for one in three schools. None of this is necessary, it is a cruel policy choice by a government and a department whose instinct is always to penny pinch when it comes to school. When it comes to essential public services. People, everyone, ordinary people out there, they notice the contrast with a government that is Flahoolock when it comes to landlords, businesses and property developers looking for money. They note the fact that the government has a 65 billion euro surplus, choosing to leave billions on deposit in so-called rainy day funds instead of investing. Our amendment does a number of things. It seeks to ensure that no school receives any reduction in the allocation of resources. That additional resources to ensure adequate numbers of CNOs are allocated. And so dedicated to support transition from early years education to primary, from primary to secondary. And that there's continuity of supports for all children all the way through education. That last point is vital, because with this government there is no joined up thinking. A child who may have adequate special needs provision and assessment in preschool loses that, has to start from square one when they enter primary school. It makes no sense whatsoever. Assessment and supports should follow the child as they progress through education and not force parents and schools to go through layers and layers of bureaucracy. Before I finish, I want to raise the case again of Sam Lewis, a non-verbal autistic child who has had applications for a secondary school place rejected at 15 different schools. This is a case that's already been raised at least twice in the Dáil. It's been in the media. There was a protest by Sam's parents at the Department of Education. They've met with the NCSE, but nothing has happened for them. They've gotten reassurance, but nothing has happened. It's time for action for Sam. It is time for action for the court. It's time for action for Sam.
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