FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny and the party’s education spokesman Brian Hayes TD will jointly propose a Dáil motion next week calling on the Government to reinstate special needs classes in primary schools.
They announced details of the motion during a visit to St Brigid’s junior national school in the Dublin district of Tallaght yesterday where, according to their joint statement, “twenty-four special needs children will have no special needs class from this September”.
However, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has accused the main Opposition party of being “disingenuous and opportunistic” on the issue.
“The party’s own education spokesman admitted in the Dáil in February that he supports the policy of integration,” the Minister said
Mr Hayes responded: “He’s misrepresenting me and taking my comments out of context for his own political ends.”
Mr Kenny and Mr Hayes said in their joint statement: “The attack on special needs children was small-minded, vicious and done with little understanding of special needs provisions within primary schools.”