Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The NCSE will furnish me with a report soon with advice on the education of children on the autism spectrum. This will advise me regarding where gaps exist and what needs to be done. I think the Deputy will be aware that I visited the Middletown Centre for Autism in County Armagh with the Minister from the Northern Ireland Executive last week. The Deputy and I were members on the committee when the centre was being set up some years ago. We need to be aware of the very good work being done in that centre in terms of the support given to schools and individual families. I met a set of parents from County Kildare who were very pleased with their child's progress because of the intervention in the centre.

I know there are issues relating to special needs that cross over between my Department and the Department of Health and Children and I have discussed them with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. We need to continue discussing these issues.

The NCSE developed a new model for support for children with special needs. We are unable to proceed with that in September but we hope it will be ready to proceed in the near future. In advance of that, I pulled together some of the supports that are available for children with special needs in the NCSE. I acknowledge that there is more to be done across Departments in terms of support for these children.

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