Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the reply and there is a little bit of positivity in it. I hope SENOs will be given much more authority in future planning for post-primary school placements for some of these kids. There are 626 special classes but only 152 are in the post-primary setting, so sometimes the numbers do not add up. I have highlighted a case where kids will potentially be travelling 65 km. Even if somebody is going to a university or third level school in Dublin, one would not travel from Roscrea every day. That is akin to what we are discussing, with some kids having to travel from south Kildare to Dublin city on a daily basis. That does not seem fair at all.

We have put in place an excellent service at primary level but we have not thought through the whole process. I understand there is a variety of post-primary options but many parents want to see their kids at least attend post-primary education. There are certain schools willing to cater for such students and they want to expand to allow more kids to attend. They are being held by the Department not allocating funding for classrooms to be built. I will continue to press with the Minister that we must continue to plan for the future in this regard. There is no point in us doing a half-assed job when we must fully examine where the kids coming from these primary schools will end up.

We should consider the issue on a long-term basis and the benefits will be felt throughout the whole of society. There is always potential for a kid with autism to develop in a different manner than prescribed. I welcome the Minister's comments but I will continue to press the issue, particularly in Edenderry, which has so many primary school kids coming out on the autism spectrum disorder. The area does not have the facilities to cater for these kids who want to attend post-primary school.

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