Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan, Brendan Smith, has called on the Government to urgently revise special education class size requirements that are disadvantaging children in rural communities.
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Smith welcomed the expansion of special education classes but warned that the current one-size-fits-all approach is failing rural Ireland.
At present, the Department of Education requires a minimum of six pupils with additional needs to establish a special class, a threshold that many smaller rural schools cannot meet. According to Deputy Smith, reaching six pupils in towns and cities may not be an issue, but in rural communities with smaller school populations, this threshold can deny children an opportunity to attend local schools.
As a result of this, he says families are forced to travel long distances, and siblings are often split between different schools - adding huge strain to already-stretched households.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Deputy Smith says rural Ireland deserves "equal access to quality education, nothing less will do." Deputy Smith also highlighted the added impact on schools under the patronage of minority faiths, such as Protestant schools, which typically have lower enrolments and risk being excluded under current policies.
While acknowledging recent progress and the dedication of Ministers and the National Council for Special Education, Deputy Smith said, "If we're serious about inclusive education, we must deliver models that work for all communities, not just the urban ones."
Deputy Smith said Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged the validity of his concerns, committing to discussions with the Minister for Education and the Minister of State for Special Education to explore more flexible models, including possible cluster-based approaches, for small and rural schools.
Deputy Smith welcomed this commitment and concluded, "I will continue to work closely with the Taoiseach and my Government colleagues to ensure that no child is denied the support they need because of where they live."
