Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Mr. Kearney. Senator Flynn asked a question, which I would like to follow up on. I refer to special schools and their place in the overall education sector. We have spoken about the New Brunswick model in the past and obviously we are operating an inclusion model here. I am coming from a perspective where I believe there is a role for special schools and I put that on the table because there are people with profound intellectual and physical needs that need a space. In terms of the disparity between the provision of ASD classes at primary level and second level - I think it is a ratio of approximately 3:1 in primary, or it is definitely 2.5:1 - is it a case that in the future we are going to see further mainstreaming of children with ASD provision who heretofore might have had a space in an ASD class? Is that ultimately the model the NCSE envisages where we will be shifting to a model where students might rotate or do a set amount of time per week or per month in an ASD class and then transition back to mainstream and keep it on that kind of a loop? Ultimately the question is around how many buildings we can build. Is there going to be a critical point where it becomes the norm that kids are in and out of an ASD class?