Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman and I thank the Department and the NCSE for coming in.

My first two questions are for the Department and the NCSE and concern children who cannot be diagnosed due to the delays caused by Covid. I am talking specifically about autism spectrum disorder, ASD, and also in general. What provisions are in place to provide either resource hours, a place in a special school or an ASD class? I refer to children who everybody knows will probably need an ASD class, a specialist school or resource hours from September. Unfortunately, they cannot receive such support because they do not have a diagnosis, which was already an issue in this area. Given that no children have been diagnosed over the last few months due to Covid, what plans are in place? I would hate to see children negatively impacted.