Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I thank Mr. Kearney, Ms McGrath and Ms Prendeville for coming to the committee today. The main objective of us all is that at the end of this process parents and children would be clear in the role they can play and the role the NCSE plays around the issue we must overcome.

Many of the questions have already been asked and answered but I would like to get a bit more detail from Mr. Kearney about the database and the five-year forecasting. We are aware from the NCSE's information that 14,000 students have been diagnosed with autism. The majority of that cohort is, I presume, in primary school currently and will be moving to secondary school in the future. Has the NCSE got this mapped out for the next five years? I would have thought that once a child enrols in a primary school, the NCSE would know about it immediately and would be conscious of the progression of that child. The NCSE would know that if a four-year-old starts school next September, he or she will need a secondary school placement in nine years' time. Has its forecasting gone into that detail? For example, are there enough secondary school places for those children coming out of primary schools at the end of the coming school year, 2022-23? I presume the changes to section 37A are being brought into place because there would not be enough primary schools with autism classes or the means to bring a child into the school.

On the issue of having to get another assessment of need when going into secondary school, parents have said to me that they have had to get this assessment done privately. Obviously, it is needed for the child to progress into secondary school to assess what his or her needs are. Perhaps we could get some clarification around that.

I also want to ask about July provision. I welcome Mr. Kearney's comment earlier about the role July provision can play. How many children have not have access to July provision this summer? I am aware that there are different reasons for some children not being able to get it. Some committee members, including the Chairman, were at a meeting last week where we discussed the small crèches whose staff are unemployed for the summer. They are let go when the school term ends and then brought back in September. They were saying that this cohort of workers could possibly be open to providing July provision. Has the NCSE looked at this area? I will leave it at that and if I need to come back in later I will ask another question then.