Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

My colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has been working very hard to address that issue of very significant backlogs for children who require these services, for both the initial diagnosis and subsequent access to the services. That is crucial and I welcome the work she has been doing in that area in conjunction with the Minister for Education and Skills. It is important that in this year's budget, we provided funding for an additional 235 special class teachers in 2021, which will provide education for 1,200 new special classes. The Government has recognised that there is a significant issue in the area and is putting in the investment in respect of it. As for the appropriateness of who is undertaking contact tracing, I fully take on board the Deputy's point.

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