Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)

The Minister of State said the number of children without a special class placement for this school term is in single digits. It is fair to say that took us all by surprise. There is more complexity behind that figure, as alluded to by Deputies Keogh and Ó Murchú. It is a very different experience having a school placement in the community where one lives compared with having a placement a long distance from one's community. The difference is stark, involving, in many cases, an addition of chronic stress, dislocation of children from their community and all the adversity and disadvantage that go with that. What kind of information does the Department have on the number of children who have to travel outside their locality? Are those distances and travel times quantified? I make that distinction because, depending on the circuitous nature of the route, the number of stops if travelling by bus and the levels of traffic congestion, the journey could be much longer than a regular journey over the same distance.