Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I am sure the Minister of State is as much aware of this sort of problem as I am . On the north side of Dublin we have a problem with primary schools getting services for the support of autistic children. However, what is most distressing is that when children have secured those services, after waiting, and make progress through the education system with the support of appropriate services, they then move to second level where the whole support structure falls away. In my constituency, St. Joseph's post-primary school in Fairview has 17 children in need of autism services. Only eight of them have the support services of speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological support and psychiatric service, as one would normally expect. Of the other nine, five are on a waiting list and the others are getting no service.

Is that good enough? These children are in the system. There is no question of people not knowing about them. However, when this was questioned the service provider, Beechpark, said it did not know of the existence of some of the designated children and they thought there only six children and not 13. Where was the Department of Education and Skills in keeping track of children and the service provider and in making sure Beechpark knew about them?

The children were told enrolment was not a matter for them, so that if children were enrolled it was not a matter for them and being enrolled did not guarantee them access to needed support services. How can one say a child who makes progress and has support at primary level has no right to continuing support at second level, other than joining the end of a queue? That is what seems to be happening. I cannot understand how the Department can stand over the lack of what it calls a demand-led scheme in the case of children who have been in primary education and are moving on to secondary education, as any child should. The system does not anticipate their need. This leaves the service provider, Beechpark, in an impossible position in that it must turn to the school and say it cannot support the children and that they must be put on a waiting list. There is no prospect of the children of the waiting list getting help this year.

The school is in an impossible position. What is to happen if there is an emergency requiring the children to have psychological or psychiatric support? There is none available to them. How is the school supposed to continue to cope with that?

Some of the children are subject to what the Department calls a transferral period, whereby they receive support for six months before being put on the waiting list. There is a worry that, at the end of the six months, they will just disappear into the ether and that there will be no continuing commitment.

This is a huge issue. The House passed the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act so every child would have support provided according to his needs. In the case in question the Department is allowing the whole structure to fall apart where a child moving from primary to secondary education, as is natural. This is not good enough in St. Joseph's in Fairview. Apart from the nine children in question, there are 66 in the wider catchment in Dublin North-East in the same boat.

This is a chronic problem. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the problem from his constituency experience and I ask him to talk to the Minister about it. Something must be done to crack it. Children with special needs of the kind outlined must not be abandoned after so much was put into their development. The Department is risking a falling apart of the system for want of continuing support services.

There is a lack of joined-up thinking in the Department of Education and Skills. It delegates responsibility to the Department of Health and Children, which is equally bizarre, and the child is left swinging. The Minister of State needs to take a hard look at this issue. If he cannot address it tonight, will he consider it further to determine whether a solution can be found?

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