Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. May this be the first of many times that I speak on behalf of a Minister of State. I thank the Minister of State but her generosity means that I cannot be as hard as I intended to be.

I am speaking on behalf of the 942 students with ASD in Kildare, many of whom cannot access a place. I am also speaking on behalf of the two schools in Rathangan which have no NEPS schemes whatsoever. Staff in my office carried out a survey among all of the schools in Kildare on this issue because we recognised its importance. We got a huge response to the survey from school principals who were very eager to have their views and experiences heard. To be honest, not all of them were negative about the new scheme but they all spoke about the difficulties they experience in providing resources to children through the scheme. They are very frustrated and angry about how difficult it is to get an assessment, as they see their students struggling every single day. There is a glaring inequality in the system which allows parents with sufficient financial means to pay for a private assessment in order to get their children the resources that they need. Such assessments can cost upwards of €1,000.

I do not have time to talk about Caoilinn from Suncroft who cannot access a place or about David from Newbridge who is flourishing because he has one. I urge the Government to increase the number of places in ASD units in order that children like Caoilinn can have an educational experience like David's. We must ensure children do not fall through the cracks in the education system.

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