REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF SPECIAL CLASSES FOR CHILDREN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF SPECIAL CLASSES FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND GENERAL LEARNING
Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur láthair ar an ocáid stairiúil seo, chun na foirgnimh agus acmhainní nua a oscailt go hoifigiúil. Tá me buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus an fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to be with you today to officially open the new classrooms inSt. Raphael’s Special School and the Carraig Beag Residential Unit for adults.
I wish, first of all, to thank Brother Gregory and Carmel Finnucane for the kind invitation to perform the opening ceremonies. My visit here today gives me the opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous work that goes on here and to congratulate you all for your dedication and commitment to the children and adults who use the services. It is unfortunate that Brother Gregory cannot be with us today to celebrate the culmination of many years of hard work but I would like to extend my very best wishes to him.
There is a struggle faced by those who have learning difficulties. There is a struggle faced by their families. There is a level of vulnerability to be protected, a level of independence and self-fulfilment to be achieved, a level of dependence to be effectively supported and sustained, there is a human person to be cherished and helped to be happy, there are carers to be given hope, respite and credible, accessible assistance. Your motto “Everyone Deserves a Future” captures the essence of the ethos which underpins your work and the vision you have for our country - a community of care in which the dignity and rights of every human being are valued and respected and in which everything is done to help that person achieve his or her fullest potential.
Our world is rarely a comfortable place for those who live with disability. For generations we built roads, houses and public buildings which catered exclusively for the able-bodied. In so doing we unconsciously created a culture of even deeper exclusion for those who were already excluded, more hurdles for them to overcome in order to achieve lives of decent quality. What is true for the physically disabled is also true for those with learning disabilities, so often seen as of no ability, so often seen as little more than passive spectators at the sport of life.
The St John of God Order has for many years been a champion of the rights of those with learning disabilities. You have been at the forefront in the provision of life-long assistance for people with special needs and indeed your commitment to providing services of the highest quality has long since been recognised. You have come a long way since the St John of God Order established its first house in Carraig Beag in County Tipperary and on that journey you have helped confront us as a society with our responsibilities, helped challenge our easy assumptions, helped bring those with special needs into the spotlight, into the mainstream where they belong as of right. Year in and year out you have been improving and developing the range of services on offer, always seeking to offer the best and so, it comes as no surprise that the Order has taken the decision to establish these two new services here in Kildare.
The addition of the Carraig Beag residential unit broadens the range of facilities available at St Raphael’s , provides a much-needed boost to people who use your services and helps enrich the lives of the adult clients in an actively supportive and stimulating environment. It is great to hear that your work is already showing very promising results with many individuals integrating into the work environment and into their communities. It is very encouraging too, to see that so many of your residents are now back in supported employment and that many are able to go home for the weekend. Each of these milestones vindicates your work in a special way and each brings with it the miracle of a major leap forward for the human person at the heart of it.
The provision of suitable, effective education for those with special needs presents us with a considerable and a crucial challenge. Each pupil has highly individualised needs which demand customised programmes and to be successful these demand a very high level of co-operation and collaboration between teachers, special needs assistants, nurses and clinical staff as well as a real partnership with parents. It is very heartening to see the developments that are now taking place in particular the establishment of new special classes which extend beyond the academic year, such as those you have established here. The great gift that education confers is personal empowerment. It opens up choices, opens up life itself in all its fullness, reveals talents and teaches skills, takes us on a journey into our own selves, allows us the chance to achieve, to know the joy of self-respect, the pride of admiration for what we have accomplished. I know that is what you want, what you work for here.
I cannot praise adequately the work of all the members of the Board of Management. For much of the time, your work goes unnoticed, behind closed doors but it is pivotal and to all those who have contributed to making today a reality, congratulations on a job well done.
The parents are entitled to a heartfelt “well done”. You carry the burden of worry, the daily responsibility for human care in all its aspects as well as education and training. You know days of tiredness and days of rejoicing. You want the best for your children and the existence of these facilities brings you more than a little degree of relief and assurance. Facilities and services build upon, complement but do not replace, your extraordinary devotion and unselfish dedication to your beloved children. Between you and the John of God team you create a continuum of loving, living care.
Like the trees planted in honour of this day our children respond well to a nurturing environment. I know that it is also your fond hope that like these trees, the services that we are celebrating today will grow and flourish in the years to come.
I wish you every continued success in your future endeavours.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím rath Dé air sa todhchaí. Go raibh maith agaibh.