Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

We must also encourage the parents to continue to mobilise, protest and make their voices heard. It is striking that these parents are dealing with very difficult situations and they are not being assisted by the State. They are then forced to go out and struggle and fight for what is necessary for and the right of their children. I had a meeting last week with parents involved in different groups in my area. They were from the Tallaght Parents Autism Support Group, Social Circle and Enough is Enough!.

They told horrifying stories regarding the failure of the State and the number of children faced with being taught at home because they are not getting the appropriate supports that they need. There were also stories of children who had access to ASD units in the first half of primary school but were then forced to move into a different school. That causes significant disruption in their lives and their education during the second half of primary school. I heard reports of SNAs who have effectively been turned into classroom assistants because there is only provision for one SNA per classroom. There might, however, be three or four children needing access to that service. It means that the system is completely failing.

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