Special education centres 'won't fly' with the public, says Harris

 Simon Harris: 'We have made a lot of progress as a country in relation to special needs education and inclusion in general. We just need to be very careful we don't go backwards.'

Building special education centres for children with autism instead of guaranteeing them school places is not "where we want to be and it is not where we need to be," according to Minister for Further Education Simon Harris.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) was amongst those who had criticised proposals by the Government to build special education centres. They cited the move as fundamentally at odds with the word and spirit of the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities.