Parents of children with severe mental and physical disabilities yesterday expressed concern over moves by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to close down a special needs pre-school in Ennis, Co Clare.
St Michael's cares for 11 special needs children, and the move to phase out the service was yesterday condemned by the Jack & Jill Foundation, which offers support to children under four who suffer severe developmental problems.
Enrolments at the school have stopped as the HSE plans to introduce a pilot programme to accommodate children in mainstream education with the assistance of special needs staff.
Chief executive of the Jack and Jill Foundation Johnathan Irwin is opposed to the move.
He said: "A number of the children are so fragile and so damaged that they won't possibly be able to cope with the proposals being put forward.
"It may suit some of the children at the school, but the children we seek to help would not have the stamina or the intellectual capacity for the advanced courses that are proposed."
He added: "We and the parents are very unhappy over the proposal.
"It is terribly easy for people in offices to draw up proposals looking for the most efficient way to deal with these children, but each one is different, and what is proposed is very unfair to the families."
The St Michael's staff of five help the 11 children to live more independently by teaching them necessary feeding, speech and language courses in conjunction with an education programme.
The school also has sensory, activity and therapy rooms with specialised equipment. Eileen Williams, the parent of a three-year-old girl at the school said going to St Michael's "has been the best thing to ever happen my child. She is happier in herself and, for example, is now better able to cope with things like noise".
She added: "We embrace integration, but many of the children will need a high-support setting like St Michael's."
"We have been assured that the children will not be forced to go elsewhere, but we are battling for the parents and children that will come after us, because for some what is proposed will not meet their needs."
A HSE statement said yesterday: "According to best international practice, children with disabilities should not be accommodated with their contemporaries and should instead be accommodated in mainstream settings, including mainstream pre-schools, with appropriate supports to facilitate the transition.
"Up to now, many parents were unable to exercise choice in relation to pre-schools and through the development of Clare Early Intervention Service parents will now be supported to place their child in mainstream pre-schools.
"Clare Early Intervention Scheme is established based on evidence-based best international practice and on a transdisciplinary assessment, which provided each child with an individual care plan.
"The service aims to provide more accessible countywide facilities to address existing deficits.
"The service team consists of a psychologist, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and an early intervention specialist who will collectively assess each child's needs before devising an individual care plan in consultation with the family or designated carer."
