Credit where it’s due: Disabilities Minister did the right thing

It’s a story in itself that it was quite shocking last week to see a minister stand up to her officials, but Minister of State for Disabilities Anne Rabbitte did the right thing by vulnerable children and their families and teachers.

The decision this week by Disabilities Minister Anne Rabbitte to suspend the rollout of the controversial Progressing Disabilities Services (PDS) scheme – which would have seen special schools lose their on-site therapists to community-based hubs – followed months of lobbying by special schools and parents’ groups, and a series of what were reportedly increasingly frustrated meetings between the minister and Health Service Executive officials.

That Rabbitte informed officials of the halting of the introduction of PDS after 4pm on Thursday afternoon, just as her pre-recorded interview on Newstalk announced the same decision, was a clear power play by the junior minister, and one she was extremely unlikely to have made without the full ............