I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter, which impacts upon the lives of all our constituents. I welcome our colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to the House. I am not sure if I have had occasion to congratulate him in this setting before. In any event, it is no harm to renew my welcome to him.

Group sewerage schemes are generally a success and alleviate many difficulties for people trying to live outside or adjacent to small towns and villages. They are crucial in villages, towns and rural settlements. Currently, there must be a cluster of 25 houses to qualify for grant aid.

The issue is that in general, particularly in small towns, there tend to be settlements of eight to ten houses. It can be as low as five or as high as ten. It can vary. Certainly from eight to ten onwards they should be allowed to form a group scheme and to receive grant aid. I know there might be questions around economies of scale but I cannot see, from my layman's understanding of this, that there would be that radical a difference. Whether there is or not is not the point because we cannot discriminate against these people. One of my wonderful elected council colleagues who has been a councillor for 40 years told me that he has recently come across a person whose septic tank failed the normal environmental test. Of course these tests are necessary for the health of the environment and people. This constituent's septic tank failed the normal testing but there was no scheme because they were under the required number. This created a very difficult situation.

This is not totally germane to this debate but I would like this to be reflected back to Government for the matter to be considered. I know that we do not pass motions on money matters but I exhort and request that the grant aid for these schemes be increased. The big priority would be to reduce the numbers and then the grant aid ask, because the water connection grant aids in the water schemes is actually higher.

The water schemes go back to my youth. They were transformative in rural Ireland, transforming the lives of people in communities, particularly rural women, which is not an aspect often focused on. It should not have been the case but that is how it was in reality. The sewerage scheme also transformed the lives of local people. Now with working from home, the size of Dublin and with the need to have local settlements and diverse local communities, the schemes are crucial. I contend that we should look at reducing the number required. I await the Minister of State's response.

I thank Senator O'Reilly for bringing this important matter to my attention and for the opportunity to address this topic. In recent years, my Department has invested significantly in rural water and waste water infrastructure to support our rural towns and villages. As the Senator said, it is crucially important for quality of life measures and to enhance vibrancy within rural communities and areas so that people there can have a good quality of life. To live, raise a family and work, it is essential that they have proper infrastructure to enable this.

Through non-Uisce Éireann investment in rural water infrastructure under the national development plan, some €50 million has been committed to specific funding measures for the provision of waste water collection and treatment needs for villages without access to public water services. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, launched this funding scheme and invited local authorities to make applications for funding for priority projects in their areas.

The scheme was designed to support demonstration projects that would inform a longer-term, strategic approach to the issue of waste water infrastructure in small villages. Earlier this year, having considered recommendations received from the independent expert panel tasked with critically assessing the applications received, funding of more than €45 million was approved for a number of demonstration projects across the country.

In tandem with that, we recently made improvements in respect of domestic wastewater treatment systems, specifically septic tank grants. Maximum values have increased from €5,000 to €12,000. We have also removed the qualifying condition that the septic tank must be registered with the local authority before its improvement. However, there are concerns about the lottery system of inspections in some local authorities. We have introduced specific measures in respect of prioritised areas of action, PAAs, and high-status objective catchment areas so that septic tanks that are dysfunctional and have quality issues can be reported to local authorities and subsequently supported.

I am sure that rural water schemes are crucial in Cavan and Monaghan. We will soon announce the multi-annual rural water programme, which will support schemes in being fit for purpose. It will ensure that the quality of schemes’ drinking water is enhanced and maintenance is delivered through various subsidies. It will also ensure that many schemes are taken in charge via Uisce Éireann measures or amalgamations. The Minister is progressing these projects. More than €45 million was provided for demonstration projects. I am sure that the programme of investment will again be aimed towards smaller towns that would not otherwise be provided Uisce Éireann capital investment. We need to prioritise those areas.

Unfortunately, a vote has been called in the Dáil, so we will suspend until after the vote. Is that agreed?

Yes, although we could have finished this matter in a minute.

I checked, but it seems that continuing is not possible. The bells have been ringing for a few minutes.

Well done. I accept that.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. To refer to one point, I am delighted with the increase in the septic tank grants. That is good news. I take all the points the Minister of State made about investment. He said €100 million is available to Uisce Éireann and that is now being invested in smaller clusters of settlements in smaller schemes to provide wastewater treatment facilities specifically. There are also other water schemes.

My sources still tell me that the issue is the number of people who can get into the scheme. When the Minister of State was voting in the Dáil, I had the opportunity to get back to the person who first brought this issue to me. I was told it hangs still on the fact that smaller clusters cannot qualify. Perhaps the Minister of State could take that on board. Therein seems to be the nub of the problem, as it was identified to me anyway by a long-serving councillor. I thank the Minister of State.

I thank Senator O'Reilly. The points he made are valid. It is a challenge, absolutely, and I am very much aware of the issue that he and the councillor who contacted him have raised. We will continue to examine actively ways to continue to support and improve wastewater connections and water services in rural areas in need. I can certainly work with the Senator and the relevant local authorities to try to achieve a solution to the problem the Senator raised. If he wishes to pass on the contact details, I will be more than happy to engage.

I thank the Minister of State.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will respond to the second Commencement matter, while the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will take the third and fourth Commencement matters. It is a pity the matters he is taking are not running in sequence.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to the House. I thank him for his time this afternoon.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. He will be aware of the Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit. It is one unit. I raise the question of the facilities for the Coast Guard stations in Arklow and Courtown.

In the case of the Arklow Coast Guard station, the Minister of State will be aware that in December last year Wicklow County Council granted planning permission for upgrades to the building. This extension would allow for a disabled toilet, a shower, a changing room, extra storage and a canteen-cum-meeting room. Since that planning permission was granted, no action has been taken to move on the building of the facility.

I turn to the case of the Courtown Coast Guard station.

The Minister of State and I engaged on this previously, soon after he was appointed to this Department. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of action concerning this facility. This goes back now over a decade. I have had to raise it numerous times in this House because there has been no progress.

On 24 February 2022, when the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, came into the House, she told me that six sites had been shortlisted and that Courtown was on the "building programme priority list". On 23 November 2022, the then Minister, Deputy Harris, came into the House and informed me that this was "one of the key priorities" for the OPW. He went on to say that "OPW officials are giving this project every priority possible at this time". That was November 2022. By the summer of 2023, it was indicated following correspondence that there may be some issue with Wexford County Council. I, therefore, arranged a meeting in the Coast Guard hut in Courtown between the then junior transport Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, and Wexford County Council during which it was clearly established that Wexford County Council had no issue with any of the sites, and the OPW informed us that it was narrowing it down to five sites. On 10 October 2023, because I could not get any further information, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, came into the House and again informed me that Courtown was one of the key priorities for the OPW.

When the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, appeared before this House earlier this year, I raised the question of the Courtown Coast Guard station and he informed me again that it was one of the key priorities for the OPW. I requested that the Coast Guard locally be kept informed by the OPW. The Minister of State told me that the OPW would inform the Department of Transport, which in turn would inform the Coast Guard. Have we heard anything? No. On 16 September of this year, I emailed the Minister of State's office asking for an update on both the Arklow and Courtown facilities. My email was acknowledged on 17 September. I have been seeking an update since from his office and from the OPW, but I have not received one.

The Minister of State will understand the frustration being experienced by Coast Guard members and coastal communities. Planning permission in Arklow was granted and nothing seems to be happening. The Coast Guard personnel on the ground in Arklow are certainly not aware of any progress. In the case of Courtown, however, we are continually being told it is a priority, yet it does not appear to be. Is the OPW actually capable of delivering these projects? If this is meant to be a priority for the OPW, I would hate to see something that is not.

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important matter in respect of the Coast Guard projects in Courtown and Arklow. I saw that this had been tabled as a Commencement matter, so I wanted to come in as Minister of State with responsibility to provide him with an update. I will do it slightly out of sequence to the response and deal with Arklow first.

The Irish Coast Guard division of the Department of Transport has 44 units based in 58 Coast Guard stations. The Coast Guard building fund, which includes for the provision of new or upgraded facilities at a number of locations, is managed by the OPW on behalf of the Department of Transport. These projects are funded by the Department of Transport. The programme is overseen by a programme oversight group consisting of representatives from the Department, the Coast Guard service and the OPW. My office provides advice and assistance on the design of such projects, site feasibility studies, acquisition of sites, planning and detailed design, contractor procurement and management of delivery in line with requirements of the Department of Transport and the Coast Guard service.

With regard to the Arklow project, the OPW completed detailed design for a single-storey extension to the existing Coast Guard rocket cart house. The planning applications was submitted in 2023. The decision to grant permission to the proposal of the extension was made by Wicklow County Council on 5 December 2023, with final grants received on 25 January 2024.

The OPW is currently undertaking procurement for services of a consultant civil and structural engineer to complete the design team. In tandem, a fire safety certificate and disabled access applications are being prepared and will be lodged with the local authority in the coming weeks. The timeline for approval of these following lodgement is a minimum of eight weeks. It is anticipated that the new tender process will commence in the coming months, with a contract awarded in quarter 1 of 2025. Construction will commence on completion of the tender process. The appointment of a contractor will be granted subject to statutory approvals.

Construction of new facilities are currently estimated to take approximately nine months from commencement to completion.

To go back to Courtown, I understand the Senator’s frustration and I undertake to follow up on the particular issue raised and come back to him in the next week. The existing Courtown Coast Guard station is a single room limestone-built building, originally designed for storage of rescue equipment. It is situated at a busy intersection of three roads and has no available off-road area to park. The OPW carried out some minor remedial works to the building in the past to provide dry storage and office space and to address essential health and safety issues. While the building works have alleviated some of the problems, the use of the facility in its current form is unsustainable. As the current site is only slightly larger than the building footprint and is bordered to the rear by a steep river gully, there is very limited capacity for any expansion or upgrade of the facility. Since this matter was last raised - in fairness to Senator Byrne, it has been consistently raised by him - the OPW has liaised with the Irish Coast Guard to progress proposing a new location for the Coast Guard station in Courtown.

As outlined previously, a number of potential sites in the ownership of the local authority had been put forward by the Coast Guard but these sites are no longer available. The OPW continued to engage with Wexford County Council and received clarity in June 2023 as to a potential site that, subject to the completion of legal due diligence, may be available. In addition, a market trawl identified a number of other potential sites that may meet the requirements of the Coast Guard. The OPW completed the appraisal process in all sites identified. As part of the appraisal process feasibility studies were carried on the potential sites to ensure that all Coast Guard requirements can be provided for and there is no impediment to the proposed development which will be subject to planning. Following completion of the feasibility studies, the preferred site was selected following consultation between the OPW and the Department of Transport in March 2024. The OPW is still in active negotiations with the owners of the preferred site, but this is a very early and commercially sensitive stage. As the process is still ongoing, the OPW is not in position to provide further information on individual sites at this time.

The next step, following authorisation of funding by the Department of Transport, is completion of due diligence and acquisition of the preferred site. Obviously, this has to be done in line with infrastructural guidelines. Once a suitable site is acquired, the OPW will assign a project team to commence the planning and detailed design stages of the project. The tender process will then follow and the OPW will manage the delivery of the new Coast Guard facility in Courtown, while continuing to work closely with colleagues in the Department of Transport to deliver on the overall Coast Guard programme. Unfortunately, at this time it is not possible to provide a commencement date for the start of the construction of a new Coast Guard facility in Courtown.

I will go back and take a more extensive look at the process involved, although obviously not in any way interfering with the process, but to see where things stand. I understand the urgency around this project. I assure Senator Byrne that the OPW is committed to continue its work with Department of Transport and the Coast Guard Service to deliver on a station in Courtown and the upgrade works in Arklow.

I thank the Minister of State for his response on the question of the Coast Guard station in Arklow. The fact that the contract will be awarded from Q1 of 2025 is welcome and good news. The Minister of State said that once the contract is awarded, there will be nine months of construction. Therefore, there is a possibility that all going well, the project will be completed by Christmas 2025, subject to the wording in the contract. At worst, it could be finished in 2026.

Unfortunately, in respect of the Minister of State's answer concerning Courtown - I appreciate he is only relaying what he is being told - it is a cut and paste of what he was given six months ago. I am not satisfied with that response. The OPW has done nothing as far as I am concerned. I am not frustrated for myself but for the people who have to work in a completely inadequate facility.

The Minister of State will appreciate how hard people work in the Coast Guard and what they do for our coastal communities. Many Ministers and others have visited this facility and they have all viewed it as inadequate. That answer is not acceptable. The OPW have not taken any action on this. I have been getting the same answer for four years and the only change is that it has gone from six sites to five sites to commercially sensitive negotiations. It is just not acceptable.

I welcome Senator Byrne's comments on Arklow and I appreciate his frustration about Courtown, County Wexford. A preferred site was selected in final consultation with the Department of Transport in March 2024. The OPW is still in negotiations with the owner of the preferred site but, as has been said, it is at a commercially sensitive stage.

I give the Senator my commitment to follow up and personally come back to him over the week on this particular matter. I thank the Senator for raising the issue of both Coast Guard projects in Arklow and Courtown. I assure Senator Byrne that the OPW is committed to continuing work with the Department of Transport and Coast Guard service to deliver on upgrade works in Arklow and a station in Courtown. I will come back to the Senator on Courtown.

I thank the Minister of State and Senator Byrne.

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to the House.

I welcome the Minister of State. First, I want to recognise the work of Ms Patricia McPhillips who retired as principal on Friday after 39 years in Coolmine Community School, Blanchardstown. She told us that she came for only one year and it is a testament to the ethos and culture of Coolmine Community School that she stayed for so long. I know how special that culture and ethos is because my mum also taught in the school.

Ms McPhillips was a principal who put her heart and soul into Coolmine Community School and has left her mark on the lives of thousands of young people in our community, and they on hers. I sincerely thank her for her service. It is sad she is leaving while the roof saga is ongoing, which I will outline today. Whatever is said today, we should all agree it is not safe or sensible that buckets are a permanent feature on school corridors, the busiest thoroughfare in the school. There are 1,000 pupils moving between classrooms every 40 minutes. This is a serious health and safety issue that the school has been living with for two years.

The timeline begins in 2014 when the school got a new roof. In 2016, it needed refurbishment and in 2022, the leaks began again which initiated the presence of the famous buckets. This time last year, the school started its process of applying for emergency works. In April, revisions were made and requested which the school did. The school then applied again for emergency works, costing €133,000. I believe this was recently rejected on the basis that the school should revert to the 2016 contractor. I do not believe the contractor did a satisfactory job on the roof but at the same time, it is a very difficult position for the school to chase a contractor while the school lives with the disruption and the potential safety issues for its pupils and staff.

That decision should be revised and the emergency works should be authorised so the work can be done.

I have seen a letter from the trustees of the school, who have met the board of management about the works. They put together a compelling case. The last paragraph of the letter simply states that the school may have passed the point of the existing building being fit for purpose. I would say that it is not that it may have. It definitely has. This school was due a new school building 25 years ago and it never materialised. Meanwhile, down the road there is a new school building that cost in the region of €30 million. My research has shown that the school has seen investment of €3.5 million for capital works over the past ten years. All the school is asking for is €133,000 to deal with a legacy issue that must be addressed.

Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome Dromtariffe Active Retirement Club to the Public Gallery who are here as guests of Deputy Michael Moynihan. I hope they have a wonderful day in Leinster House and enjoy their visit.

I also welcome all the guests joining us in the Seanad.

To return to more serious issues, I thank Senator Currie for raising this important matter about Coolmine Community School. I am taking this Commencement matter on the funding of roof works under the emergency works scheme on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. I acknowledge Ms Patricia McPhillips, the former principal mentioned by the Senator, and the wonderful service she has given to her community and the impression she has left on many young people's lives.

From the script I have been given, I will outline some of the background. The purpose of the emergency works scheme, EWS, is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening. The governing circular in this regard is Circular 0068/2020, which provides additional information on the scheme and may be a useful reference point for the school in question. Delivery of this scheme is managed on a devolved basis by the relevant school authority. As part of its digital strategy and streamlining arrangements, the Department's applications for emergency works can now be made via an online portal called Esinet.

The school in question, Coolmine Community School, submitted an application for funding under the EWS for significant works to a flat roof section of the school and replacement of high-level windows just under the roof area in order to address the issue of water ingress into the school building. The application was made in October 2023. As part of this EWS application it was noted that roof refurbishment works were completed on the flat roof area in question in 2016 and that there have been consistent issues with water ingress in this area since the completion of these roof works. Following an analysis by the technical area of the EWS team, it was determined that the works being sought under the EWS did not fall within the remit of the EWS and therefore, the application was rejected. It was recommended that the school’s board of management revert to the original design team, consultant and contractor, requesting clarification on why the current flat roof has failed so soon after completion of the aforementioned works.

In respect of the decision to reject the application, the Department notes that the option is open to the school to appeal this decision, via the online portal. The basis of the appeal should include additional relevant information that was not previously provided to the EWS team as part of the original application, in order to allow for an analysis of these additional factors to be considered in the appeal decision.

I am sure the school's board of management has exhausted all avenues. I reiterate that this is the Department's process. It is based on the circular to which I refer.

I thank the Minister of State. This is an example of why schools are so frustrated with the workings of the Department of Education. The school in question applied for this a year ago. An emergency is deemed to be "a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, that happens in sudden, unforeseen circumstances and requires immediate action". I am saying that the presence of buckets in the busiest thoroughfare of the school for the past two years represents a risk to health and safety and that if the ongoing leak is not fixed and there is an issue with the roof, it will give rise to an emergency situation and the school will most likely have to shut down.

It is a year since the school submitted its application. The response is to go back to the original design team, the consultant and the contractor. Why did it take so long for the response to be given? It is just not practical to do as has been suggested. The emergency has to be dealt with. The school has most likely gone back to the contractor already to try to get the leak fixed. We need a twin-track approach here and a bit of common sense on the part of the Department when it comes to dealing with an emergency situation that needs to be rectified as soon as possible.

I thank the Senator. She has made a compelling case in advocating on behalf of Coolmine Community School and the students, teachers and staff who have to deal with this on a daily basis. I will take all the information that she has presented back to the Minister, Deputy Foley.

As we move into the winter months, it is obvious that this case is exceptional. There is a need to rectify the situation on the basis that we will have inclement weather conditions over the next number of months. I have no doubt that if the school provides additional information, the Department will look at and may review the appeal under the EWS on the basis of that information.

I thank the Minister of State and Senator Currie. Hopefully, this issue will be resolved without delay.

I welcome the Minister of State. I am asking the Minister for Education to intervene to ensure that the comprehensive review of the reasonable accommodations at certificate examinations, RACE, scheme will be completed by the State Examinations Commission prior to the 2025 examinations.

As the Minister of State will probably be aware, this is World Dyslexia Awareness Day. Ten per cent of the population is dyslexic. Thirteen thousand students in our education system are dyslexic. What we are looking for today is clear, namely the granting of additional time for people with dyslexia who are sitting State examinations. We are not looking to reinvent the wheel. This accommodation applies across Europe. Ireland is an outlier in the European context.

When people go to third level, they have the option of additional time being provided when sitting exams. For some bizarre reason, however, the State Examinations Commission has not granted additional time to people. That is a sin. It does not make sense. We are hanging 13,000 children out to dry because we cannot get our act together here.

I raised this matter with representatives from the commission at a meeting of the relevant joint committee. I was informed that it would take two to three years to complete the review. That means children sitting the junior certificate this year will not have any chance of having additional time provided when they sit the leaving certificate. It is unacceptable that I was given this response at a committee of these Houses. That cannot, should not and will not work.

The students in question need to be given a chance. We want them to reach their full potential. We do not want them to be stressed. We do not want barriers put in front of them. What is being said is that the review of the system to provide people with the additional time they require may take two or three years to complete.

What really annoys me is that when people get to third level, they gets these accommodations. I have spoken to many students who have used the reports that they got in primary school to get the additional time.

It does not cost extra money. What they do is place a sticker on the table and the student gets additional time off the back of that. There are no financial implications. The most insulting line that we came across from the State Examinations Commission is it does not want to give dyslexic kids an unfair advantage. Could you imagine that is what the commission came up with? It is just not good enough. We are failing students.

Today is World Dyslexia Awareness Day. There will be a meeting in Buswells Hotel shortly at which I will speak. I have spoken about this for years and I will keep speaking until dyslexic pupils get what they deserve, namely, equal opportunity, which is being denied by a State board. I am looking for the Minister to intervene, not to give me another excuse. I want her to intervene and ensure the Department she is in charge of delivers. If not, another cohort of children will go through stress and pain and will not reach their full potential because we cannot deliver what we should be delivering. No more excuses.

A petition is being circulated to every public representative in the country asking them to support additional time being granted. I have signed it, as have many of my colleagues. I ask every Member of the Oireachtas and every councillor to sign it. Unless we get this change, we will continue to fail 13,000 students and the youth of Ireland. That makes no logical sense.

If anybody tells me that we are giving dyslexic kids an unfair advantage, I will go mad. That is the line we got from the State Examinations Commission. The time has come for change. We need to have movement on this issue. I am disappointed that on World Dyslexia Awareness Day the senior Minister is not in attendance. I have great respect for the Minister of State but this is an issue that deserves the attention of the Minister. It is as big an issue as there will ever be.

I thank the Senator for raising this extremely important issue.

I thank Senator Lombard for raising this important matter. I have listened to him many times raise it previously and I know how passionate he is about it. I am sure that many of the 13,000 students want to see the same change sought by the Senator. It is time for action.

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, and the Department of Education. I assure the Senator that the State Examinations Commission takes very seriously its obligations in providing access to the certificate examinations for students with special education needs. The SEC is fully committed to providing an examination and assessment system with the highest possible standards of inclusiveness, equity and fairness which enables all candidates to display their achievements.

The State Examinations Commission works closely with school authorities, the Department of Education and other agencies to provide access to examinations for candidates with special educational needs. It also actively engages with persons with disabilities through their representative organisations. The State Examinations Commission has a duty to make the service equally available to as many people as possible. I am informed that almost one in four candidates at the 2024 certificate examinations was provided with some form of reasonable accommodations within the RACE scheme to support them in accessing the leaving certificate, leaving certificate applied and the junior cycle examinations

From the 2016-17 school year, the RACE scheme has undergone fundamental reform. The reform focused on ensuring greater integration of the RACE scheme with overall Department of Education special educational needs policy, enabling greater access to the scheme by students with learning difficulties and allowing greater autonomy to schools and certainty to students about the examination supports which will be available to them.

The candidate-centred changes were informed by engagement with stakeholders and included representatives of students, including those with special educational needs such as the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, the Special Needs Parents Association, school management and leadership bodies, Government agencies and statutory bodies, including the National Council for Special Education and the National Disability Authority, the Department of Education and the National Educational Psychological Service.

Since this reform, the RACE scheme has been subject to a process of ongoing review and improvement by the SEC.

The commission's recent enactment of the scheme includes the introduction of further examinations for leaving certificate candidates who missed their examinations in the main sitting due to close family bereavement, or serious accident, illness or injury. In the context of the senior cycle reform, which the Senator discussed, the SEC has commenced work on a comprehensive system-wide review of the RACE scheme. The focus of the review will be increasing the use of assistive technology to enhance access and integration, and to further support independent learning. The terms of reference for the review have recently been agreed by the SEC board of commissioners. The review will consider all relevant issues and take into account the best practice internationally. The composition of the structures that will underpin the review is being finalised. This will include extensive consultation and engagement with as broad a range of stakeholders as possible, including young people with special education needs, their families and representative organisations.

When we had the commission members before the committee, they informed us it would take two or three years. We are still in that timeline. It is outrageous that we do not have a timeline here. We will have a situation where kids will be doing their junior certificate and they will not have the accommodations required to reach their full potential. Children will get assistive technology to help them along that road but it is the case that if a person has a C-Pen that reads the stuff, it takes longer to do than physically reading it. This is not reinventing the wheel. In France, for example, a dyslexic student gets 33% extra time. This is what happens in other countries. Parents and the community are frustrated because we are not being listened to. We are stuck in a process and that process is taking too long. The commission needs to review it. A report was produced in 2008 saying that additional time should be allocated for dyslexic kids, yet we are only now doing a review. It really is just not good enough. The Minister needs take control of this because if not, we are failing our young people and we are putting them under more pressure and strain. Society and life is tough enough without having this bureaucracy affecting them. My frustrations are just beyond belief because there is no movement here. The SEC board seems to run on a different planet to the rest of the world. There could be consultation after consultation but they are not going to make the decision we need them to make. They are letting our people down. I am frustrated here. I totally appreciate that it is not the Minister of State's brief but the senior Minister needs to take control, otherwise we are letting down a cohort of people in our society that needs our help and support, and the bureaucracy is just killing us.

I thank the Senator. Before I bring in the Minister of State, I welcome to the Public Gallery my assistant and intern Cat Yost, her aunt Lynn Yost, her cousin Thomas Farmer, and transition year student Damien Moyles who is also working in my office.

In once sense Senator Lombard's frustration is justified. I will absolutely relay his sense of disappointment regarding the timeline. We need an accelerated delivery programme on this reform. That is really important in the context of what he has advocated on behalf the young people who have special education needs and who in the future will sit their State examinations and need that additional level of support. The review needs to be expedited and we need to have a clear pathway for how this reform will be undertaken. This is not to take away from the need for extensive consultation and extensive review across a broad range of stakeholders. We need to get to the end point as quickly as possible and I understand where the Senator is coming from on behalf of those he advocates for. I will relay that message back to the Minister for Education.

I concur with the Minister of State and commend our friend and colleague, Senator Lombard, on what I know have been years of campaigning on this issue, and specifically on this particular aspect, which is extremely unfair.

Hopefully, the review will be expedited, as the Minister of State has said. Before concluding I thank him for his time this afternoon. We know how busy he is. His time in the Seanad is always appreciated.