Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley has spoken out in the Dáil regarding ‘funding cuts to the special needs services as well as the summer provision’.
The summer provision is a home based summer programme for children with complex special educational needs where their schools are not offering a home-based or school-based programme.
Stanley has previously highlighted how cuts will severely impact children in Laois while speaking on a Sinn Féin motion to ensure that this provision is properly resourced.
He said: “This Sinn Féin motion seeks to address a further downgrading and defunding of those programmes that are vital to children that are in special education in the summer months”.
Brian Stanley also wished to draw attention to the “random lottery” that decides whether a child receives summer provision or not.
The government has also cut the capitation payment from €45 to €30 which Stanley believes seriously undermines the quality of service these children experience in school during the academic year.
He said: “There is a serious shortage of school-based summer programmes, as home tuition is not suitable for many children and places too great a burden on parents to find a tutor.
“The Summer Provision is more than just a get-together for special education children. A summer provision place is the difference between having a withdrawn, quiet, unsociable child and a happy, outgoing, confident, and chatty child”
Deputy Stanley is hopeful that the government will revert the funding cut that was made and subsequently called for more school-based summer provisions to be made available in the future.
He believes that special education facilities are not being given enough funding and that the current allocation needs to be revised urgently.
Stanley said: “To see the smiles of children taking part in the Summer Programme would gladden your heart. Especially after so many lost out on those Summer Experiences due to Covid.”
