Disabled schoolchildren need care, say parents

PARENTS of severely disabled children and Opposition politicians yesterday urged the Government to review its decision to insist on educational classes for children in need of constant healthcare.

Over three-quarters of the 31 pupils at St Vincent’s Developmental Education Centre on the Navan Road have been withdrawn from classes indefinitely in protest at the increasing focus on educational services at the centre.

The families of 24 children have called on the ministers for education and healthcare to reverse a recent trend to switch its focus away from health services. Around 40 members of the St Vincent’s Parents Support Group staged a demonstration outside the school yesterday to demand greater healthcare services for their children.