Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I recall that it was the Labour Party many years ago which stated that there would be 500 multidenominational schools. That was without a plan at all and had to do with the amalgamation of existing buildings. Be that as it may, I am very committed to the provision of multidenominational schools. When I was Minister for Education and Science in the late 1990s, I was responsible for the first breakthrough in taking away the contribution that had to be made up until then. It was impossible for new schools and new patrons to finance new buildings and purchase land. The demographics and the locations dictate. We now go out to communities to invite them, through plebiscites, to decide what form of school patron or school they want and they vote accordingly. Progress is being made in respect of this.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan and others raised the issue of autism and special needs more generally. Approximately €2 billion is now being spent on special needs education, which is 50% more than in 2011. There is huge provision of special needs assistants, with approximately 18,000 provided for in 2021 and they deal with well over 40,000 students. No school will suffer a reduction in its allocation for the school year 2021 to 2022 and this is an important point. As Deputies know, we have thousands of other provisions in special education.

With regard to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan's point, I am anxious to ensure that there is a more structured approach to ensuring that there are places in given areas for students so that well parents will know well in advance that there is a place for their child the following September and will not have to go through the struggle of going from school to school trying to secure places for their children, which is unacceptable. In this respect, we need to look more broadly at ownership and patronage more generally. Very often, we go to certain providers who state they do not have any more capacity to add a school or a class or take extra places. This is not good enough any more, particularly when the State has to fulfil a constitutional obligation to make sure children have access to education. A special needs child has an equal right to access education as children in mainstream situations and I am very clear about this. There may be an increased role for education and training boards where there are gaps and where people do not come forward quickly and speedily in order that the State enters quickly and speedily and provides additional places, builds schools and gets on with it. We had a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee, to which Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan and others alluded, to examine the legislation. The legislation in place was introduced some years ago.

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