Cork TDs unite to back parents demand for therapists at St Killian's Special School

A pledge by a minister to restore therapists to St Killian’s Special School in Mayfield must be honoured, a “highly emotional meeting” meeting on the matter between parents and politicians heard yesterday.

Politicians from Government parties and the opposition joined forces to appeal for urgent funding to support the restoration of therapists to the special school.

Cork South West Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan as well as councillor and Cork South Central candidate Seamus McGrath, Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, Solidarity TD Mick Barry, and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns were among those who attended the meeting with parents of the children attending the school. 

The school had, on the basis of a pledge of €150,000 from the minister of state for disability, Anne Rabbitte, put in place the arrangements to hire therapists.

Concern was also expressed at the lack of action on the issue as Cork schools named on a pilot scheme — which did not include St Killian’s — have yet to have therapists restored to their schools, even though it had been announced in August that the scheme would commence in September.

Eibhlin Gleeson, spokesperson for St Killian’s Parents Unite, said: “The fact there’s still no therapists in the schools and we’re in the third school week and there’s nothing in place — I think [the politicians] are all as concerned as we are.”

Rejected

The proposal that St Killian’s had put forward is understood to have been rejected at Cabinet level in favour of the pilot scheme about which there are now growing doubts around whether it will be implemented at all.

Ms Gleeson added:

“From our point of view we can’t be put on hold for a second round of therapists if the first round isn’t up and running — it doesn’t look to us that any progress is being made.

“It’s very concerning to us — we’re solutions-focused parents, we want a solution, for us it’s not about the reasons why it can’t happen, it’s just about that it has to happen, and it has to happen urgently.”

After the meeting, a number of politicians spoke to The Echo about what they had heard at the meeting and what their next steps would be.

According to Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, the pledge had been made by the minister to support the restoration of therapists to St Killian’s Special School and that pledge had to be honoured. He agreed, however, that all politicians in attendance were united in the sense they wanted to see the restoration of the therapists urgently, and said he would be raising the matter in the Dáil when it resumes.

Mr Gould said: “The Government appears to be blaming the HSE for the delay on this scheme — the Government need to tell the HSE to get it done. Who’s running the country?”

Constructive

Fianna Fáil Cork North Central TD Pádraig O’Sullivan said that he had to question whether the HSE was serious about implementing the pilot scheme that had been announced in August, adding: “I spoke to a principal of one of the schools selected, and they haven’t been contacted yet.”

His Fianna Fáil colleague in Cork South West, Christopher O’Sullivan, said that the meeting had been constructive and stressed that he would be exerting as much pressure as possible to find a solution.

“The priority has to be getting the therapists on site as quickly as possible,” he said, adding that interim assistance until the school was included in a functioning pilot scheme was an option that could not be ruled out.

Solidarity/People Before Profit TD Mick Barry said it was heartbreaking to hear parents at St Killian’s describe what their children and their families were being put through by the State’s refusal to fund therapists for the school, adding: “I will go back in the Dáil next week and bang the table on this one and co-ordinate with other TDs who are willing to do so.”

According to Seamus McGrath, the Fianna Fáil councillor, the accounts he heard at the meeting were heartbreaking and underlined that there was an urgent need for the therapists to be restored to the school.

Comment was sought from the HSE about the operation of the pilot scheme and what plans the body had in terms of recruiting additional therapists.