Ms Miriam Jennings:

I shall respond to the point made about responsibility for issues being passed between Departments and Ministers. A number of our special schools are a dual model so a health and education model. Many of our families would say that many of the needs of their children with complex needs concern more of a health model. Some children follow a curriculum in special schools but many of the children for whom we advocate do not.

We definitely have some dual conversations with the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and, concerning disability, with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We keep them constantly up to date with our research and the models that we propose. In addition we have had numerous meetings with them where we told them everything, which we have identified this morning, about the absolute need for survival and support in the summer.

Interestingly, based on further research we conducted this year, we envisage another issue for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. We have all of the information now so we know how valuable placements are for our students in third level colleges. One student has told me that they only got to go to a special school, do a placement and get experience because they knew the lady who worked there who, in turn, said a placement could be organised but none of that person's classmates got the same opportunities. It is crazy that we are not seeing these advantages and opportunities. On this specific issue there is a three-pronged ministerial approach and Ministers should talk to each other. Yes, there certainly are areas where we have found a 50:50 split within ministerial communications.