‘Parents shouldn’t have to fight for supports for their children’

The meeting, at 7.30pm in Kilmore Recreation Centre, is being hosted by Equality in Education Dublin Bay North and Dublin North West, and follows a 24-hour sleep-out by parents outside the Department of Education two weeks ago

Independent councillor John Lyons, People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy, and Social Democrats councillor Jesslyn Henry are scheduled to speak on a panel alongside Rachel Martin from Families Unite for Services and Support Ireland, an SNA, and a parent.

One local parent, Amy, will be attending the meeting. Her daughter Kyla Mae is autistic and has a diagnosis of Global Developmental Delay.

They waited two and a half years for her Assessment of Needs, only receiving it after legal action was taken.

She is now fighting for an appropriate school place for Kyla Mae, who hasn’t received any speech and language or occupational therapy.

“We’ve applied to 17 schools, including early intervention classes,” she said.

“We’re trying to get her a third year in pre-school as all the schools are replying to say they are full and she hasn’t been accepted.

“Kyla Mae needs the appropriate services, therapies, and school placement because if she doesn’t, there’s a good chance she will regress.

“I want the Government to act on their words and not fill already stressed and overloaded parents with false hope,” she added.

Samantha O’Flanagan, Forsa Equality Officer from the NDNL SNA branch, will also be in attendance and said she has had the privilege of seeing children “thrive with the right supports and environments”.

“Unfortunately, I’ve also seen the detrimental effects on children who are denied an appropriate school place,” she said.

“These parents are doing what any parent would by fighting for their child’s rights, but they shouldn’t have to.

“The system should work for them, not be fighting against them; every child deserves the right to an education,” she added.

Cllr Henry, an SNA, sees first-hand the importance of appropriate school places.

“Parents shouldn’t have to fight for supports for their children, but at the very least, they should not have to fight for school places,” she said.

“As an SNA, I see the difference an appropriate school place can have on the child’s life, but on the wider family’s life too.

“Schools are a place of education, but they also give respite for parents, a sense of normality and inclusion.

“That’s what tonight’s meeting is about – providing space for parents to come together so they are not alone, where they will actually be listened to,” she added.