Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. In the immediate aftermath of the election, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, said that there was an urgent need to provide the country with a functioning government. In outlining the many reasons why that was needed, he spoke very passionately about how parents of children with a disability must fight to secure a place each September for their children in primary and secondary school. Many parents of children with special needs are facing considerable difficulties in securing these places for their children and often, when they do get on the list, they have been waiting for many years.

I recently met the ASD Education for Finglas group and heard the harrowing stories of parents who were left in the dark, who had to scramble around contacting different schools and who often resorted to begging school principals. In my constituency of Dublin North-West, there is a severe lack of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, places both at primary and secondary school. At primary level there was one specialised class in the entire Dublin 11 area, which includes 19 primary schools, yet there are only three ASD units in that area. At second level the situation is even worse. There are seven second level schools in the area and only one has an ASD unit. Many parents are forced to send their children to education providers outside the area, which deprives children of growing up in the community where they have so many other resources. As I know the Minister of State believes, we need to incentivise more schools to provide ASD units and I understand that often, particularly in a DEIS area, this can make schools fearful about the resources that they have. Will the Department produce a five-year forecast of the current and future needs of special needs education places in the catchment area for each school and communicate that to the schools?

Under section 37A of the Education Act 1988, the Minister of State can direct a school to provide additional provision where all reasonable efforts have failed. I appreciate that we have to exhaust that process first. The legislation has been used to good effect in the recent past in south Dublin and I praise the Minister of State and the Department for that work. Many people in my constituency are asking whether, if it was appropriate to take that action on the south side of the city, similar action can be now taken on the north side. I urge the Minister of State to assist these parents in any way possible.

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