Richard Boyd Barrett: Government Failing Children with Disabilities
Richard Boyd Barrett criticised the government for systemic failures in services for children with disabilities, arguing parents are being forced to seek redress and that legal rights under Irish law and the UNCRPD are being breached. He said shortages of teachers, special education resources, SNAs and CDNT staff are leaving vulnerable children and anxious parents without required supports.
Richard Boyd Barrett said parents are "at their wits end" and accused the government of failing to provide enough teachers, special education teachers, special classes and SNAs, and of failing to staff CDNTs. He argued these multiple shortfalls leave vulnerable children bearing the cost and parents under severe stress and anxiety.
He framed the issue as one of rights, citing Irish law and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) - saying children have a right to education and equality and to participate fully in society. He told the chamber that these legal entitlements are being breached when required services and supports are not delivered.
Boyd Barrett described individual cases to illustrate the problem, including a young seven-year-old who received an assessment recommending an occupational therapist and a special class place but was told the CDNT or EDNT did not have an occupational therapist. He said the boy was placed in a girls' school because the special class place was not available in his own school, undermining recommended integration plans.
He criticised the government for failing to plan despite having census data and called it "simply unbelievable" that a wealthy country with budget surpluses cannot count and plan for children with special needs. He concluded that many children have been failed and that the state "has got to do better," reflecting a demand for improved resourcing and accountability.
Claims of systemic failure
Richard Boyd Barrett said parents are "at their wits end" and accused the government of failing to provide enough teachers, special education teachers, special classes and SNAs, and of failing to staff CDNTs. He argued these multiple shortfalls leave vulnerable children bearing the cost and parents under severe stress and anxiety.
Legal and human-rights focus
He framed the issue as one of rights, citing Irish law and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) - saying children have a right to education and equality and to participate fully in society. He told the chamber that these legal entitlements are being breached when required services and supports are not delivered.
Concrete examples cited
Boyd Barrett described individual cases to illustrate the problem, including a young seven-year-old who received an assessment recommending an occupational therapist and a special class place but was told the CDNT or EDNT did not have an occupational therapist. He said the boy was placed in a girls' school because the special class place was not available in his own school, undermining recommended integration plans.
Census, resources and accountability
He criticised the government for failing to plan despite having census data and called it "simply unbelievable" that a wealthy country with budget surpluses cannot count and plan for children with special needs. He concluded that many children have been failed and that the state "has got to do better," reflecting a demand for improved resourcing and accountability.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Carol Nolan
Carol Nolan warns Offaly children missing vital dental checks
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith urges funding for less-developed border regions
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Rejects Irish troop deployment, demands legacy inquiries
George Lawlor
George Lawlor urges urgent action on special education crisis
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy slams Go Ahead failures, urges NTA to restore Dublin Bus
Michael Collins
Michael Collins urges extended debate on agri-food and rising TB
Transcript
Yeah, thanks to Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and thanks to the parents who have come in, who are devoted to their children and to vindicating their rights. And that's what we are talking about, their rights. Their rights under Irish law to education and their rights under the UNCRPD to equality, to be able to participate fully in society on an equal basis to every other child. So you are failing children, parents who are at their wits end, who are forced to come in here to have their voices heard, and you are breaching their legal rights. In a way that potentially, and this is what has parents at their wits end with stress and anxiety, because potentially that is at the expense of that child's ability to fulfil their potential as a human being. That's what's at stake for parents, and the government is failing them. Failing to provide enough teachers generally, by the way, in education. Failing to provide enough special education teaching resources. Failing to provide enough special classes. Failing to provide enough SNAs. Failing to provide the staffing in the CDNTs. And you can go on through the list of failures. And vulnerable children, at the end of all that, are the ones who pay the price, and parents who are absolutely wracked with anxiety and stress, trying to do the best for their children, but up against a system that is completely dysfunctional. Now, it is simply incredible because, you see, we're a rich country, and we have a thing called a census. I don't know if the government have ever heard of the census, but it's a thing where you count how many people there are in the country, and you know exactly how many children there are, and you can work out from the census how many children have special needs and disability, and therefore what resources are needed for them. And you plan for them. That's why we do the census. And it is simply unbelievable that you're incapable of doing that in one of the richest countries in the world with massive budget surpluses. You can't do the basic thing for vulnerable children. It's unbelievable. And so the consequence is, I have, like, a lovely couple who come in to me today, they're a young seven-year-old this week, the young seven-year-old boy who went to the CDNT when he eventually got his assessment, told, you need an occupational therapist, sorry, this EDNT doesn't have an occupational therapist, so he's failed at that level, but he needs that to be able to integrate properly in the school environment, and he needs a special class place, but the boys' school, which he's in, doesn't have that place, so he did get a place in the girls' school. But the recommendation of the occupational therapist was, he shouldn't be in the special class all the time, he should integrate in and out, but he can't integrate in and out, because he's in the girls' school, not in the boys' school, where he's supposed to be. And that is just typical. Or kids who get assessments, and are told you, need this, that, or the other, and as the Lankham lead singer discovered, if you were reading the papers at the weekend, yes, your daughter will have services for your child in 2022. That child has been failed, like many hundreds and thousands of others, you've got to do better.