Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy D'Arcy for raising this matter. The briefing I have is not quite the same as the issue the Deputy has outlined. Perhaps we need to clarify some points. It has certainly not been brought to my attention by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which would have responsibility for placing children, that the needs of the children in Gorey community school are not being appropriately met. That is the case the Deputy is making, but that evidence is certainly not available in my Department. I will ask the NCSE to assess the matter.

The Deputy is right in saying that we have provided a new 1,000 pupil school in Creagh College. That is obviously a growing school, and as its numbers grow, it will be fully equipped and staffed both with teachers and SNAs as appropriate. Within that construction, it has been provided with a four classroom special needs unit, with a capacity for 24 students. As those students present themselves, they will be fully equipped with resource teachers and SNAs.

As I understand it, the position in Gorey is that there are 12 children in an ASD unit, so there is provision for an ASD unit in Gorey community college. Between both colleges we have six special needs units. At this point the Department is waiting to see the growth of requirements involved. I will investigate the case the Deputy has made that these children's needs are not being appropriately met. There is a process of appeal to the NCSE and a school would work through its local special needs organiser in respect of any requirement. In turn, the NCSE would identify the most appropriate support.

In a wider context there are 681 children with ASD needs in County Wexford. Some 216 of them are in special classes spanning early childhood, primary and post-primary. A substantial number of children on the ASD spectrum are catered for in mainstream education with appropriate support from resource teachers and SNAs and without necessarily having a specific, dedicated unit.

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The most appropriate level of provision depends on the needs of the child as assessed by the NCSE. The response from my Department, which the Deputy will see, indicates that the NCSE advises that there is enough capacity to meet local needs. Obviously, if it is the case children's needs are not being appropriately met, that would be of concern and the NCSE would assess the position. It would not be a matter or issue on which I, as a Minister, would make a judgment. They would have to be assessed by the NCSE and, in turn, the Department would have to respond to what it identified.

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