Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

That is one of the most fundamental issues. In one of the first interviews I did after being appointed, I said we have to bring back the timelines. Last year, the deadline for parents to contact the NCSE was 1 February. This year's deadline is 1 October, which is a couple of weeks away. We hope the need will be established in a couple of weeks. We are going to work to try to ensure children have been given a placement by December of this year, rather than have them waiting into July and August. Going back a couple of years, I was at a school gate one day and there was a parent waiting for their child. The child was finishing primary school on 26 June and the parent had no idea where their child was going in the last week of August. One thing that drives me on every day is ensuring that situation does not happen.

I had been a public representative for a number of years by that time and I was walking away from the parent saying to myself that this was totally unacceptable. What drives me every day is the need to ensure that system is torn down. That is why the Department of education and the NCSE have moved back the date to 1 October to bring certainty to families so that they will know earlier and will not be waiting until 15 August or later.

At the outset, I asked members to use their own spheres of influence, including on social media, to highlight the fact that 1 October was the deadline. It is hugely important that everybody knows. The Minister, Helen McEntee, and I have done a social media piece over the last while. The process has been open for people to apply since 5 August this year. We would ask members to use their spheres of influence, as respected public representatives who are known within their communities, to make sure that the 1 October date is known to families. The school communities know it and we have also reached out to the preschools and other relevant bodies. I ask members to also reach out because if we have the information early, we can plan accordingly.