A spokesman for Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has denied the charge made by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO).

The announcement by the Minister in February that 128 special classes in 119 primary schools throughout the country were to close was severely criticised by parents, as well as by unions and schools.

The move is expected to save the exchequer about €7 million annually.

Article 7 of the UN convention stipulates “that in all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”.

Under Article 24 the Government is obliged to ensure that children with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability.

“Supporting a policy of inclusion does not mean forcing all children with special needs into the mainstream classroom," INTO president Declan Kelleher said.

"No one has ever said that every special needs child should be integrated into mainstream classes even with additional support. The UN convention doesn’t say it and neither does the Council of Europe,” he added.

But a spokesman for Minister Batt O'Keeffe said the move was “far from being at odds with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities". It is consistent with the objectives laid down by that important document, he said.

“Any serious scrutiny of our arguments would recognise that fact, and it is frankly disingenuous of the INTO to make claims to the contrary.

“Article 24.2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that parties should ensure that ‘effective individualised support measures are provided in environments that maximise academic and social development consistent with the goal of education’.

“That’s precisely what’s happening in over 3,000 primary schools all over the country.

“In every one of these classes, children with a mild general learning disability are included in ordinary classes with their friends, supported by their class teacher and their learning support teacher who can work with particular children on a one-to-one basis.’’

However, parents of special needs children are very unhappy with this latest move and many are distraught. In an email sent to all Dáil deputies, one mother of a special needs child wrote:

“This is absolutely outrageous. These children are unable to integrate within the mainstream school. If they were, does the Minister not think that as parents we would have already placed them there?’’ (Source: Irish Times)