The parents of children attending a special school in Galway have written to the Ministers for Education and for Special Education and Inclusion appealing to them to make provision for their children, and complaining that children with severe to profound intellectual disabilities have been "completely forgotten and left behind again".
In a letter to Norma Foley and Josepha Madigan the Parents' Association of Rosedale School in Renmore say that from tomorrow education provision is in place for almost all children except children like theirs.
They say that adult disability day services will also continue.
Rosedale School caters for children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities.
Their letter states: "None of the above provisions apply to our children. In-school learning is the only viable option for them".
The parents point out that their children are not just missing out on education but also on vital therapies, because those therapies are provided at their school.
The letter states: "Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Psychology input, Health and Medical needs; School is where they access essential specialised equipment necessary to aid development."
Rosedale Parents' Association has requested an urgent meeting with the two ministers to discuss the problem.
Earlier this week the Government announced that special classes and schools would reopen from tomorrow, along with classes for Leaving Certificate students.
However, the plan was reversed just over 24 hours later amid widespread and strong opposition from school leaders, trade unions representing teachers and SNAs and other school workers, as well as Leaving Certificate students.
However, organisations representing children with disabilities had welcomed the reopening plan as had many families of children with disabilities.
Minister for Education Norma Foley will meet representatives of charities Down Syndrome Ireland, AsIAm, and Inclusion Ireland tomorrow.
Families and their representatives have spoken of the huge strain they are under as their children regress and some manifest challenging behaviour as a result of school absence.
The father of Rosedale student Leah Walsh told RTÉ News the family was devastated by news that the school would for the present remain closed.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
