Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

Supports are available in many schools as part of the exercise we have carried out. The 1,000 applications processed for the most needy children at the beginning of the current school year related to children who were entering schools for the first time or who were attending schools in which support was not available for special needs children. The 4,000 applications on hand in the Department will be dealt with in the near future in the context of the change I am introducing to the system, which will ensure in future children with a higher incidence of special needs and their parents will not have to go through the trauma of psychological assessments, schools will not have to be in almost constant contact with the Department and the Department will not be snowed under with applications that can be dealt with by schools.

Unfortunately, adopting a streamlined system that will be much easier on parents, pupils, schools and the Department takes a little time to get right. I accept people are waiting but I hope they will not have to wait much longer and a much improved and more customer friendly provision for special needs in schools will be in place. It has to be done but, unfortunately, this group of children are being delayed as a result. However, if I do not do this now, the same thing will happen year in, year out and I am not prepared to stand over that.

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