Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It would be helpful to have that note and also to have some indications in it of the types of issues we are talking about. When I became Minister for Social Protection in 2011, I found in regard to applications for the domiciliary care allowance where children were on the spectrum but particularly where children had behavioural disorders, that they had not been provided for in terms of accessing the allowance. We had to completely overhaul the system, close it down for a period and create a new system. That resulted automatically each year in an extra couple of thousand children and families accessing it.

My recollection is that the Department of Education and Skills traditionally does not particularly recognise behavioural disorders. The test on the social protection side is broadly does the child require care and attention that is very different from the norm. Also, in that case, quite a number of parents, if they are parenting full-time, would go on to qualify for carer's allowance, but in terms of the school provisions, the approach of the Department of Education and Skills, from my experience, is far more restrictive. Does this measure cater for children who have been accepted in terms of the domiciliary care allowance? It may well be that they will be accepted into mainstream classes in the school because, for instance, they have a physical disability which can be addressed and catered for within the mainstream.

What I am specifically interested in is the child with severe behavioural disorders. In my experience, the Department of Education and Skills will not always recognise the issue. While it has moved a long way in recognising spectrum disorders such as autism and asperger's syndrome, I am not sure the same applies in the case of behavioural disorders. I would like the Minister to enlighten us on that point.