Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I did not say the ABA system was the only method of providing education to autistic children. In recognising that extra moneys have been pumped into this sector, it seems that the failure of the Government to allow for an assessment system in the first place causes personal consternation and anger among parents of children with special educational needs, be it autism or another condition. That the Government has failed to deliver an assessment system within a short period is the root cause of much of this anger. Can the Taoiseach state what evaluation has been carried out on the pilot schemes in the designated ABA centres? What is the waiting list for ABA pupils in those centres? Has the Government made a definitive decision not to proceed with an expansion of the pilot scheme or are centres to be established in other locations around the country?

In general, the social experiment of putting all the children with special educational needs into mainstream schools is not working as envisaged. Teachers face difficulties due to a lack of resources in spite of increases in the number of special educational needs assistants. Speech and occupational therapists who work in special needs schools are contracted to the HSE and not the Department of Education and Science, although the problem is an educational need as distinct from a medical one. Different holiday regimes apply in the HSE and the Department. It is wrong to suggest that the State is doing all it can when it is clear that the root cause is the failure to carry out assessments. Moreover, there is no post-assessment appeals mechanism that does not require parents to borrow money from credit unions and financial institutions on the pretext of doing up their houses. The money is really intended for individual ABA tutoring, sometimes in the parents' homes.

One of the great scandals of the Governments over which the Taoiseach has presided has been the failure to deal with the root problem, that is, the inability to have an early assessment. I am quite sure that, as a public representative, the Taoiseach has met parents of children with special educational needs, be they autistic or otherwise, whose frustration is caused by the failure of the State to address their needs.

What will the Taoiseach do to enable earlier assessments? Will he introduce an appeals system so parents will not be required to fight their cases against the State in the High Court? How many are on the waiting list for ABA? I understand there are approximately 400. Will the Government extend the pilot scheme to more than 12 units, as it originally proposed? What is the Taoiseach's view on the contracting of specialists, including speech and occupational therapists, to the HSE when they should be contracted to the Department of Education and Science?

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