Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The outline the Deputy has given is not in accordance with what one would expect from the very best standards here. The number of special classes have doubled from 548 in 2011 to 1,153 across the country now, of which 889 are special autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, classes. The number of special classes at post-primary level has doubled in the past three years and continues to rise rapidly. All of these are paid for by the taxpayer and are all in accordance with the best standards.

As the Deputy knows, early intervention classes are also available to support pupils who have ASD. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300 million in providing additional resources specifically to support students who have autism in schools, enabling 63% of them to attend mainstream schools, 23% to attend particular classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and about 14% to attend special schools.

The July provision scheme is available to support pupils with an extended school year to include the month of July. Approximately 14,000 students are diagnosed with autism, which indicates a national ASD prevalence rate of about 1.5% or one in every 65 students. Therefore a great deal of effort is being made. I will take to heart what the Deputy has said in respect of the issues she raised concerning St. John of God, including the proximity of the two buildings. However, the Deputy has made a clear statement that there are practically no services being provided at all here for these children. Let us verify whether that is the case because we are spending €1.6 billion a year on children with special particular circumstances, including specifically those with autism. I will take what the Deputy has said in the best spirit in respect of the three children she mentioned. Let us just see, however, if the facts she has outlined correspond with the reality of what we find on the ground.

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