Call for special needs placing unit as Angel’s dad battles on

FINE Gael TD Sean Barrett has called for the setting up of a special unit which will take responsibly for ensuring school places are secured for children with special needs.

The call follows the controversy surrounding the case of Angel McDonagh, an 11-year-old with spina bifida, who has been out of the education system for a year due to the inability of state agencies to find her a special needs school place.

Mr Barrett said: “It just isn’t good enough that parents and children are sent from A to Z as various departments and the HSE fail to take responsibility for ensuring the child receives its constitutional right to an education.”