Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the town and village funding announced yesterday by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. There are a number of projects in my home county such as a community park in Ballinalee and a project with a district development association in Edgeworthstown where a derelict building was purchased under the building acquisitions measure. We secured funding of more than €379,000 to develop a special needs-specific playground in Longford town. It is something I am passionately involved with, along with my colleague Councillor Peggy Nolan. Yet, we are in a town where we do not and are not going to have a summer programme put in place for kids with special needs or for kids with the highest needs. We are yet again going to have another summer in which families will struggle to get support for their children.

I chair an all-party parliamentary group on autism following the issuing of our report last year. We met last Thursday. I wish to highlight the issue again that there are approximately 8,000 pupils across 130 special schools in the country, and while 50% of those special schools provided the programme for kids with the highest needs, only 14% of the children actually got a programme. This puts serious strain on parents but it also leaves the kids missing out and regressing when they come back in September.

I would like a discussion on this issue with the Minister of State with responsibility for special education. I know significant work has been done over the past 12 months by introducing a portal whereby staff from the therapies and colleges, ECCE staff and student teachers can put themselves forward to work. Even though they are doing this, schools are saying they are not providing the programme, even though there are staff able to provide it. It should be compulsory. There should not be a question of any special school in the country not providing it. We need a discussion on it and to highlight this issue. I publicly call on every single special school in Ireland to put in place a summer programme. We have seen an example last year at Rosedale School in Galway where 30 staff were employed from the portal. Those 30 staff actually worked in respite as well. It is important that this happens.