Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to answer the questions. The question the Deputy asked on vision is very important. Whatever about the work we are doing about the transit we need to know what the endpoint is. The Department has a core alignment with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and particularly Article 24. We have a triple-track approach with mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. The UN convention very much looks at a single-track approach. To give practical effect to this would take many years. There is absolutely a place for special schools, special classes and mainstream classes. We need to comply with the UN convention but it will take a long period of time to give effect to it and it will have to be in collaboration with all of the various stakeholders to achieve something like this.

With regard to prevalence rates, the then Minister for Health Deputy Harris commissioned a report in 2018 that found 1.5% of children have autism. The NCSE data on ASD indicates a prevalence rate of 1.55%. While it seems small in the scheme of things it is an important component of the education system. This figure is used for planning buildings. We do provide a little more space above and beyond this. The Deputy was effectively saying there is an exponential growth in autism, which there is, and it is something we need to be mindful of when making our calculations, particularly forward planning for school buildings and ensuring we have adequate capacity for these children. The calculation is based on children between the ages of four and 18 in State-funded schools. It is a best estimate of what we have at present.