Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. I am delighted to participate in this discussion with the stakeholders. Parents approach Deputies and Senators on a weekly basis to look for supports for their children. It is commonplace and is becoming more commonplace. I welcome this discussion. I have two questions. What is Mr. Mulkerrins's assessment of what we have heard from Mr. Harris? Where can common ground be found? I ask Mr. Mulkerrins to share some of the Department's experiences of hearing from parents and boards of management about the supports that are needed. There is a conversational style of open and frank debate at this committee. I would appreciate it if Mr. Mulkerrins could address some of the points that have been made by Mr. Harris.

When Mr. Harris, who is very welcome, was speaking about autistic students at the beginning of his presentation, he mentioned that the quality of their experiences is very different across the board. Has his organisation assessed the demographics of that? Are these differences geographically based? Has an effort been made to drill down into the reasons for this different quality of experience? Mr. Harris mentioned teacher training as well. He also stated that teachers must understand and respect their roles. He mentioned that one in 65 students in our education system has a diagnosis of autism, which certainly stacks up from our perspective in light of the experiences we have on a weekly basis. He further stated that each student who presents with a diagnosis has different levels of need and different challenges and strengths. Therein lies the problem in terms of the requirements for teachers and the challenges they face. Mr. Harris spoke about the training required by teachers to acquire the different set of skills that is needed. Can common ground be reached with the Department as it seeks to face the challenges that have been outlined by Mr. Harris and with which his organisation is dealing? We can see from our work that this is a very complex area. We are not trained to deal with it. Mr. Harris's organisation, the Department and society in general want to see a far more welcoming attitude.

I disagree with the suggestion in the petition that our educational system has not changed much since it was introduced during the Industrial Revolution. I can see the education system that my children are enjoying in primary school. It is far more welcoming, inclusive and open than the system I was brought up in. It welcomes all children's strengths and weaknesses in the classroom setting. The petition is unfair in that respect. I would appreciate a response to the questions I have asked.