Keira Keogh (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Deputy Quaide mentioned earlier that some children were on buses for very long periods of time. As a behavioural consultant who worked in the area for 20 years, I was regularly hired by parents privately to consult on bus situations. I recall one particular example of a bus escort in a school asking me to write a letter in support of restraints for a child on a bus. As it turned out, she had very sensitive hearing and there was a child on the bus who was very loud with vocal stims, so we just had to teach her to wear ear defenders and a Walkman and she was able to drown out his noise. If I had not intervened, she was going to be restrained. A lot of times, bus escorts are absolutely fantastic but they do not necessarily get that support where children might be travelling for an hour who cannot say they feel sick or that they need to go to the toilet. Then, we see distressed behaviours or dysregulation. They often do not get the support they need. Will these therapists also be engaging with bus escorts in relation to support?