Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

In recent years, there has been a new emphasis to make sure the NCSE is engaging with parents and families in order that the need of the child is best met.

That is the encouraging aspect. Of course, we want to ensure that children's educational needs are met as close as possible to home. That is extremely important. Parents can send their children to a school of their choice. They have that choice. Ultimately, however, we have to mindful of the needs of the child and ensure that these are met.

There are over 15,000 special education teachers in mainstream schools. If we look at the funding provided from 2020 onwards or over the past ten or 15 years, we can see there has been a huge investment in special education-----