Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I apologise for being so late. I had to attend an event in my son's school in Kilkenny. One has to make ten of one's self sometimes in this job. I had to be there.

It is an area I have a huge interest in and I apologise if my questions have been asked. A key area is the lack of a uniform approach to the quality of the classroom and the equipment is available. In some schools the ASD classroom is a prefab tacked on at the end; in others it is good and state-of-the-art. In some schools the quality of education and teaching means these children have a fantastic experience while in other cases children go through two or three schools with ASD classrooms because they are not working for them. Sometimes we are afraid to say that but it is a big issue that needs to be addressed. What are the witnesses' opinions on that and what we could we do to change it? There cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach but should more measures be implemented? Some schools and teachers are very good so if children are in that area they are lucky but if they are not the attitude is that it is tough luck.

The transition from primary to secondary school is an issue that comes up frequently. Some kids seem not to get any resources at secondary school level yet they got quite a lot of assistance at primary school level. This has a detrimental impact on their education. Have the witnesses experienced this? There are students who do not qualify for additional supports for their junior certificate or leaving certificate exams even though one would have thought that having had a diagnosis since primary school they would get additional resources at second level but that does not seem to happen.