Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Richard Bruton for raising this matter and I am pleased to take this opportunity to outline to him the position on the provision of services for children in the autistic or Asperger's range on the north side of Dublin.

Government policy and best practice recognise that clients and service users need to be at the centre of service delivery. On an ongoing basis, we are examining the way in which services are delivered to ensure people with disabilities are provided with the best possible services in an efficient and appropriate manner.

Progress has been facilitated in a number of areas in recent years by close co-operation between the health and education sectors, in particular the cross-sectoral team established by my Department and the Department of Education and Science in 2006.

Two legislative elements of the national disability strategy are the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 commenced for children aged less than five years with effect from 1 June 2007. This prioritisation reflects the importance of intervention early in life, which can have a significant impact on the disabling effects of a condition or impairment.

In light of the current financial circumstances, it has become necessary to defer further implementation of the Disability Act and of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act.

The Government has put considerable resources into schools to enable them to meet the needs of children with special educational needs. Over €1 billion was spent within the education system for this purpose alone last year. Students with disabilities will continue to receive support as they have for the past ten years. The Deputy is fully aware that the Department of Education and Skills has prioritised the provision of special education supports to schools. This is a key Government policy.

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, is responsible for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within the criteria of the Department of Education and Skills in allocating such support. The NCSE is independent in the making and issuing of its decisions relating to the allocation of such supports.

The NCSE has advised that it is actively identifying and meeting the demand for places for children with Asperger's syndrome and autism in north County Dublin. The NCSE will continue to engage with schools in the area with a view to establishing further autism classes, as required.

On the matter of support services raised by the Deputy, the HSE provides services for individuals with autism spectrum disorders from childhood to adulthood, either directly or indirectly by both statutory and non-statutory service providers. These services include assessment, diagnosis and ongoing treatment and intervention supports. Ongoing interventions and supports may include home support services, respite services and multidisciplinary team supports.

As the name of the school has not been provided, the HSE has assumed that the Deputy is referring to St. Joseph's school in Fairview. Beechpark, as a HSE service, provides clinical supports for children with a specific diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, who do not have a significant developmental delay, up to 18 years of age who attend designated special schools, outreach preschools and outreach classes and a number of ABA/ABACAS facilities in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

The Beechpark north-side outreach service provides the clinical supports for children attending schools on the north side of Dublin. This service is not a demand-led service and must operate within a defined allocation of resources. There is currently a capacity issue regarding the number of children Beechpark can support across the Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow areas.

The HSE understands there are four pupils moving from St. Joseph's national school into the post-primary school in September. These children are being wait-listed for support services, but as with all pupils from outreach classes who complete primary education, a six month transition support program is available from the clinical team to ensure a smooth transition to the next level.

Beechpark has a number of children wait-listed for multidisciplinary support services arising from the volume of new classes that have been established across the Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow areas. These children are in preschool, primary and post-primary education. In Dublin's north-eastern region, there are 11 new classes with an overall capacity of approximately 66 children, including those transferring from the St. Joseph's school in Fairview, who may require supports in September 2010.

The provision of supports to these new classes requires additional resource capacity which is not being made available to Beechpark services in 2010. The resources currently available to the four children currently in St. Joseph's primary school do not transfer into post-primary education as there are children on the waiting list to take up the places vacated within the primary school.

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