Do I understand from the Taoiseach's reply that the Government and the Minister for Education and Science will not change position? I have read what the Minister has written about it, his response and his view that there is an educational case for moving the children concerned into mainstream classes. With the greatest of respect, their parents disagree. The children are in special needs classes at present and that is where their parents want them to remain. What is the Taoiseach saying to the parents of those children? Is he saying the Government is sticking by the decision that those children will be moved out of the special needs classes and into mainstream classes? Will he respond to the case I am making that the Government should reconsider this decision and those children should be left in the special needs classes and whatever accommodations and arrangements are required should be made? The parents of these children are looking for an answer; they are not looking for the educational theory which may or may not be right. Incidentally, the educational argument is a cover, in my view, for what is a financial issue. Will the children stay in the special needs classes or will they be taken out of them?

The answer is as I have said. It is proposed that children at local level can be grouped to maintain a special class and raise the ratio to 11 pupils to one teacher, which is regarded as the best configuration. This can be worked on. We will seek to achieve this arrangement in a way which is consistent with the educational principles——

They will have to move schools.

It is a question of providing a better educational environment by having interaction between children and having a larger number in the classroom instead of isolating two or three. This is regarded as a better solution than the arrangement that was developed on an ad hoc basis in the past. This is the thinking behind the proposal.

This is not about finances but rather about trying to ensure best practice. I understand and respect what parents have to say. In our constituencies we all meet people whose children are in a particular location or set of circumstances and there is always an understandable reluctance to change the arrangements. However, there are educational issues to be considered and there is a need for departmental personnel and teaching staff to work closely with parents to try to reduce to the greatest extent possible any anxieties they may have about new arrangements, and to ensure the outcome for the children in the educational setting is at least as good as, or hopefully better, than the current arrangements.