Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. I disagree with the previous speaker. I listened to the speech of the Minister of State and I do not think it was self-congratulatory in any way. I think it was an acknowledgement of the resources that have been put in throughout the pandemic. Most of those contributing to this debate come from an educational background or have worked in the health services and we acknowledge that there will never be enough money to deal with some of the issues we are discussing. It needs to be recognised that an effort has been made in the past couple of months to target the most vulnerable in society in terms of improving resources but, unfortunately, there will never be enough money, such are the difficulties we face.

I would welcome feedback from the Minister of State in her closing remarks on the points I wish to raise. The first issue is that of summer provision. Having worked in a school for the best part of 15 years, I know, as do all Members, the problems faced by parents who have to seek that assistance for their children during the summer. All Members know the difficulties involved in getting SNAs and other staff to sign up for summer provision. To be fair, this year the Government has tried to streamline it and make it more approachable for staff, but, unfortunately, I have heard that the uptake on the ground has been very slow. I acknowledge the extension that has been granted up to 25 June and it is welcome for those applicants but it probably masks the fact that the uptake up to now has been very slow. We need to have a larger think about the system and the way in which it is delivered every year because, evidently, it is very difficult to get people to sign up. We need that to change.

In a related point on summer provision, there should be a portal run by the Department. It is sad to see that some parents and schools have created ad hocportals to get people and teachers to advertise themselves and their availability through the summer. It may be the case that the education and training boards and the Department should be running that kind of portal.

I ask the Minister of State to clarify the position with regard to the application for summer provision. I understand that applicants have the choice of availing of home support or school support but are not able to avail of both. Could there be consideration of an extension of the choice available such that a child could go to school for a portion of summer provision and then avail of it at home as well? That would open it up to greater numbers.

Deputy Tully referred to the Every Child Counts report published this week by AsIAm. Evidently, two thirds of respondents are dissatisfied with the service they are receiving, while 40% stated that children regressed during the pandemic. Unfortunately, those are the facts we need to face. We need to pump extra resources into children, schools and the sector.

The Rainbow Club in Cork does great work and has recently located a building on the south side of the city after much difficulty. It receives no departmental funding. It pays for all the therapies and employs its own occupational therapists, other therapists and so on. Unfortunately, the parents and children who avail of those services have to contribute towards the cost, with a charge of €20 per head per therapy. It is a service that is worthwhile and it is worth publicly funding. The Rainbow Club is also considering a disused HSE building in Mahon. I have written to the head of the HSE South/Southwest Hospital Group today to inquire about that property. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, can use her good offices to ascertain whether the HSE could lease that building to the Rainbow Club. She has probably seen coverage of the club online, especially on Twitter, including its autistic baker, Sean O'Mahoney, and its cottage community café. It is doing great work with children and teaching them life skills. That needs to be recognised through State funding.

I refer to autism spectrum disorder, ASD, provision nationally.I know all Members contributing to the debate are acknowledging that children have regressed in this period and it has been very challenging but I think we need to consider the overall approach to ASD schooling in mainstream schools. The strategy and discretion that schools have need to be challenged and changed and a demand-led service needs to be brought in.

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