Mr. Mark O'Connor:

Several parents, not just in County Louth but dotted around the country, have indicated that to us anecdotally that because there is no transport available, they have no way of getting their child to the placement. It boils down to one of the issues raised by Deputy Ó Ríordáin, that is, a lack of supported school placements. We have found that in County Louth, to which the Deputy referred, County Dublin and elsewhere, children are transported from one area to another, while children from the latter area are transported to the first location because that is where the school places were available at the time they were looking for them. There is a significant amount of transporting of children. If we were to urge the Department to do one thing in respect of the summer scheme and in light of the Covid restrictions, it would be to make transport available for families in order to ensure children can get to their placements. As the Deputy mentioned, these children have rights, including a statutory right to education. There is no doubt that the Covid-19 period has been extremely difficult, but that right has not disappeared into the ether.