Mr. Adam Harris:

I will be very brief. I completely echo Ms Dempsey's point. The data is there so one would have to ask why the advance planning is not being done. There are several issues we must consider if we want to create an inclusive system. There seems to be an element of class involved in this issue. It seems that in certain areas of the country, in Dublin and Cork in particular, people are travelling long distances out of their local communities to attend autism classes because there are no classes in their areas. That is very worrying. The other point I would make is that when we set up special classes, the idea was that people would get a lot of support and would, over time, integrate into mainstream. Over 90% of the young people on the autism spectrum starting in a special class are remaining there because families do not have confidence that they will get the support they need in mainstream and that is where there is a huge amount of work to be done around capacity.