{"id":12014,"date":"2025-04-01T14:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T13:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=12014"},"modified":"2025-04-01T14:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T13:35:21","slug":"second-sleepout-highlighting-special-education-crisis-shows-childrens-rights-are-not-a-government-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/second-sleepout-highlighting-special-education-crisis-shows-childrens-rights-are-not-a-government-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Second sleepout highlighting special education crisis shows children\u2019s rights are not a government priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government\u2019s half-hearted approach to creating adequate school places for children with special needs is an insult to the families breaking their backs to ensure their kids receive an education, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deputy Cummins, who is the party\u2019s Education spokesperson, said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cParents who cannot find a school place for their children with additional needs are being forced out onto the street to fight once more for their right to an education.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be the second overnight protest in just over a month –\u00a0 Equality in Education, who represent over 200 parents of children with special educational needs, organised a 24 hour sleepout outside the Department of Education at the end of February.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s abhorrent that the Minister for Education is still unable to guarantee that these children will be allocated a place fitting of their need in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear now that their concerns have not been adequately addressed and the most basic rights of children are being ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Education isn’t even aware of how many children are without a school place as they haven\u2019t conducted thorough research into the matter, despite it being of grave importance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAcquiring this data is essential to getting a handle on this crisis and thus must be prioritised.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that there is a critical shortage of places for children with additional needs – the government must implement immediate measures across the country to address these shortcomings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be standing in solidarity with parents partaking in the protest tomorrow until their voices are heard and their children\u2019s needs are catered for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur education system is failing these families, and immediate, decisive action is required to end this injustice .\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

April 1st, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government\u2019s half-hearted approach to creating adequate school places for children with special needs is an insult to the families breaking their backs to ensure their kids receive an education, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins. Deputy Cummins, who is the party\u2019s Education spokesperson, said: \u201cParents who cannot find a school place for their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,581,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-jen-cummins","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSecond sleepout highlighting special education crisis shows children\u2019s rights are not a government priority - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/second-sleepout-highlighting-special-education-crisis-shows-childrens-rights-are-not-a-government-priority\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Second sleepout highlighting special education crisis shows children\u2019s rights are not a government priority - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The government\u2019s half-hearted approach to creating adequate school places for children with special needs is an insult to the families breaking their backs to ensure their kids receive an education, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins. 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