Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Andrews made a number of assertions and 23 seconds is not a lot of time in which to try to respond to everything. I take umbrage at the statement that we or the Department do not care about children with additional needs, because that is far from the truth. In recognition of that, for the very first time this Government has appointed a dedicated Minister with responsibility for special education, which is the position I have held for some months.

The section 37A process has so far been successful in getting special classes opened. We have confirmed a potential additional 66 special classes that will open by September 2021. ASD special classes in general have grown by 235% between 2011 and 2021. We are also doing everything we can for children with additional needs in mainstream classes that are not yet back in school. Some of them are already back at school. We have prioritised children with special needs by getting special schools and all special classes back. Some children with special needs in mainstream classes are back and there are more to come on 15 March and again on 12 April. The difficulty is that NPHET had advised a cautious phased approach and we simply were not in a position from a mobility perspective to have everybody back at school. It is wrong to assert that we did not want everybody back, because we did, and that is what we are doing, but we have to take a phased approach and that is what we are doing at present.

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