INTO slams minister over morning's SEN comments

Many on social media have spent the afternoon calling for Ms Madigan to publicly apologise or resign from her position in Government.

The INTO has called on Minister Josepha Madigan to apologise for what they describe as “insensitive comments” made this morning, where she compared children with additional needs not attending school to the mother and baby homes.

Josepha Madigan was speaking on RTÉ's Claire Byrne Show about the fact schools catering for these children would not open on Thursday as planned to due ongoing issues between the Government and unions over safety.

“We've spent the last week talking about mother and baby homes, where our most vulnerable were left to their own devices in less than satisfactory conditions and we're now allowing further anxiety and upset to be placed on the shoulders of parents whose children desperately need to go back to school,” said the politician.

The statement was met with widespread shock.

Many on social media have spent the afternoon calling for Ms Madigan to publicly apologise or resign from her position in Government.

Ms Madigan has already had to request time in the Dáil this week to apologise for her language during a Dáil debate, when she referred to children without additional needs as “normal”.

The investigation into the lives of the women and children who lived in 18 of Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes between 1992 and 1998 was released last week.

The report found that 9,000 children had died in the homes under State care, and that many women suffered traumatic birth experiences.

The INTO statement, issued this afternoon, states: “We call on Minister Madigan to immediately apologise for her insensitive comments this morning, comparing Special Education issues to mother and baby homes.”

The representative body added: “We are determined to continue working towards a safe reopening of schools and ensure pupils with special needs education return to in-school teaching and learning as soon as possible. The Minister’s comments are unhelpful, unnecessary and grossly offensive to our members.”