07 March 2007
Dr. Henry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Like Senator Quinn, while I support much of what is contained in the motion, the Minister for Education and Science has done an incredible amount of work. There are great failings within the education system but the Government amendment claims that progress has been made and I applaud the Minister for that. The issues the motion addresses are worthy and another ten could have been added without asking for the removal of the Minister for Education and Science.
The physical condition of some of our schools appears to be extraordinarily bad. Despite the fact that so much money has been spent on them, there are reports and photographs of buildings which I have found unbelievable. There is another issue that I find unbelievable as well, namely, that in this day and age, we are still talking about the lack of facilities for physical education in schools in deprived areas. A former Senator, Thérèse Ridge, used to speak about a school in her area of west Dublin area which had been built for 20 years and yet had not got a sports hall. That the position is the same today is depressing. No progress is being made in this area. We have seen reports of how little physical education is done in our schools. It is not as if our children do not enjoy and want it. The facilities must be made available for the children and teachers. Thanks to global warming, there has been an improvement in the weather. At least we are not walking through snow and slush. There is a need for proper indoor facilities.
6 o'clock
The issue of reading is serious. I read a survey which showed that children from disadvantaged homes fell badly behind in the age at which they were reading properly, if at all. One part of the survey which struck me forcefully referred to the reading skills of children in houses where there were ten or less books. I looked at the coffee table in front of me and there were more than ten books on it. There are children who come from homes where there is a serious lack of concern about reading. One passes by bookshops all the time which have special offers and sell paperbacks very cheaply. Obviously, many children come from homes where there is no great emphasis on reading.
We are still talking about class sizes. I know they have been reduced somewhat, but one would have thought that by now, we could have reduced them to more manageable levels. I know all about full-time principals and additional help within the classroom, but very few countries have class sizes as large as we have.
In respect of the early school leaving age, one thing that is constantly brought to my attention is the lack of remedial help, especially for boys going from primary to secondary school. Many of them lose heart at that stage. If they have been behind in primary school and are still behind once they go into secondary school, they feel they are big men who are not going to put up with this. It is very important that they get assistance at this level because it appears that if they do badly in first year at secondary level, it is very likely that some of them will drop out very shortly afterwards. Assistance at this level is badly needed so that boys in particular are encouraged to remain in education.
The computer situation is ridiculous. If there are that many computers beyond repair or use, one wonders why they were there at all.
The last point made in the motion is one that concerns me most. This relates to the lack of access to psychological services. This is not just a vital need for children with special educational needs. It can be a vital need for children with special social needs. Like Senator Minihan, I wonder when a pilot project stops. We have seen surveys which show that psychological assessment and help delivered as early as possible make a huge difference to the progress made by the child. At first, I thought primary schools could have two psychological assessments per class. I was then told it was two assessments per year. I would be delighted if the Minister can correct me on that, but this is what I have been informed. That is ridiculous. There is no way one could function with that sort of thing. The children who need assessment should get it. It is terrible to discover that the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul pays for psychological assessments for children who are badly in need of them.
I look at the situation of children who come before the courts. If they had been given psychological assessments in the educational system, would we be looking at them before the courts and trying to get psychological assessments for them then? At one stage, I was told that there were no psychologists available to take up additional posts and that this was why greater emphasis was not placed on psychological assessments within the education system. I investigated that and found there was a panel of people waiting to get jobs in the National Educational Psychological Service. Something really odd is going on there. Parents, teachers and child psychiatrists have complained to me about this issue.
One of the worst cases involved a woman who told me she worked in the section of the Courts Service dealing with psychological assessments for children but gave it up some years ago because she found it too distressing to talk to children who, if they talked openly and freely to her about all their problems, thought something would happen when, in fact, nothing happened. This issue is really serious and if we address it, we might not have quite so much discussion about the need for anti-social behaviour orders for children. I am quite sure it would be picked up and they would not find that the educational system fails them.
Earlier today, I mentioned the fact that the Stay Safe programme is not available in 25% of primary schools, which is ridiculous. I do not know when this is going to change.
Senator Minihan discussed autism and attention deficit disorder, which are serious disorders for children. However, one thing we never address is the question of whether families in whom autism is present should be offered genetic counselling. There is the possibility that autism may be genetic in some families. People deserve to be told if this is the situation.
I can see numerous things that should be done to improve the situation in our school service but, as I said previously, I do not know if the removal of the Minister for Education and Science is the most important one.
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