Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

This motion is timely, coming just a few weeks before the plenary session of the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body. A motion will come from committee D of that conference on the question of special educational needs. During the past 12 months or more, much attention was paid to the issue and various countries were visited. It was decided to narrow the remit of the inquiry to provision for children with needs in the autistic spectrum. The rate of autism in Ireland is increasing at an alarming rate. Experts expect a threefold increase in autism among children of schoolgoing age in Ireland within five years. Service provision is not keeping pace. Resources have been increased but they do not meet the needs of the existing autistic population. There is an absence of planning that will have a sufficient effect on services.

Service provision will worsen and the issue will not be tackled as the increased autistic population comes through the system. The Government needs to think on a longer timescale. There is next to no investment in this area. This needs of this group must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Pre-schools dedicated to autism should be provided now.

There were visits to different countries during 2004. In early 2005, the committee may visit Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and its report will come before the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body. The key principle of the special educational needs code of practice for Wales is that children with special needs should have their needs met and the Scottish Parliament passed an Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004. The Scottish Act creates a new system for dealing with special educational needs. That is the criteria we will apply here to ensure needs are met.

Who is responsible for identifying the possible special needs of a child? Is it the responsibility of the child's general practitioner, nursery school staff or other education professionals? Who is responsible for the diagnosis and determining how often should the child be assessed? Is it possible for every child identified as having special educational needs to be provided with assistance before the age of five? Is that taking place or is it likely to take place?

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