Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's response because parents of children with autism in the area must go outside it to look for classes. One parent cannot even get his child into a school. For children with moderate to severe autism who are unable to cope in a mainstream setting, an ASD specific school will fulfil their educational needs. Scoil Colm is run by the Edmund Rice Schools Trust. The parents have met the trust to discuss the possibility of the school becoming an autism specific school and it is very open to considering it. The door is open and we will keep pushing it as much as possible. There is plenty of land available to build a new ASD specific school, but we have identified Scoil Colm, a large area behind which could be developed as a sensory garden. There are many opportunities. It is situated right beside a health clinic with GPs, public health nurses, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. There is a huge opportunity to develop the school which is not operating as an autism specific school with the support of Scoil Eoin. I have also tabled Parliamentary Question No. 65 to ask the Minister to meet the parents to examine this issue.

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