Ms Teresa Griffin:

I think Mr. Mulkerrins has addressed many of the issues raised. The Chairman asked about who employs the early childhood specialists and pays for those schemes. Under the access and inclusion model, AIM, that Mr. Mulkerrins has just spoken about, which the Department of Children and Youth Affairs runs, for the ECCE preschool year, the Better Start agency has been sanctioned to employ 50 preschool specialists. They go into preschools and examine the applications, for example, where children are looking for additional supports. They also provide advice to preschool leaders in respect of children with disabilities and how to support them. That is the employment model the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has adopted. We were quite neutral on it. We just thought they were needed and did not mind who employed them.

There were a couple of issues that we had identified in terms of adult services. Parents were telling us that when their children were going to school, they knew what provision was in place, but that there was a dearth of information when the children reached 18 and 19 years of age and they felt like their children were falling off a cliff or through so many cracks and that what was available was not quite appropriate. That is why we recommended that there needed to be a multiagency approach. An awful lot of money has been invested in developing potential and giving children hopes and options, but we now need to ensure that the appropriate options are available to them once they leave school. That was a particular issue that we had identified.

On the Coill Dubh situation, it would be quite unusual that we would turn down a special class. We turn them down where there are plenty of options in the area, but I will have to examine that particular case.