Parents protest over special-needs centre

Parents of children in a Dublin special-needs centre will withdraw children from the school roll on December 9th if a long-running dispute is not resolved.

The parents of the children in St Vincent's Developmental Education Centre on the Navan Road said they would move into the centre and take over the care of the children themselves.

The 34 children have been caught up in the 12-week dispute which started after the number of nursing staff fell from seven posts to 1½ posts.

Parents have accused the Department of Education of pursuing an education-based agenda at the school at the expense of healthcare services. The Department has rejected this.

The children have complex healthcare needs, with more than half of them in wheelchairs and 91 per cent with behavioural problems.

Mr Seamus Cowman of the St Vincent's Parents' Support Group said the dispute had gone on for too long and parents felt they were powerless. "The dispute has turned into an argument about what the professionals want, not what the children need or the parents require," he said.

"This will go on as long as it takes because we are unrelenting. We are doing this for us and for other parents all over the country. Parents from Sligo, Kilkenny, Donegal and Galway have all contacted us and are in the same position."

The Dublin parents have marched on the streets, pushing their children in wheelchairs before them. They have also protested outside the Department of Education and the Taoiseach's constituency office.

Some children have not been to school since the nursing staff left because of their serious medical needs.

The centre called in Mr Phil Flynn, the industrial relations mediator, some weeks ago to broker a resolution. His report is due within the next week.

Yesterday a spokesman for the board of management said he did not wish to pre-empt Mr Flynn's report by commenting on the parents' decision.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said she was hopeful that Mr Flynn's report would help produce a breakthrough before the dispute escalated.

The parents are awaiting advice from legal representatives on whether they should sue the State for failing to provide their children with appropriate services.