Ms Nicola Hart:

I can come in if that is okay. Down Syndrome Ireland still finds it baffling that, as a general rule, our children are diagnosed at or before birth but although the education system has six years to prepare for them to come, it still seems blindsided by it. It has no idea how many children with Down's syndrome are currently in the education system. There is, therefore, obviously some huge deficit in planning.

As well as the issues between the Department and schools, the joint planning that is needed between the Departments of Education and Health really does not happen in the way it should. I remember an individual case where the HSE and the Department of Education were arguing for a year about whether a laptop for a child should be provided through education or health funding. These kinds of things should not be happening.