Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Kilbrittain National School is located in a part of the world with which the Taoiseach is very familiar. It is a terrific school with two classes for pupils with autism spectrum disorder, ASD, which are an incredibly important resource for those children.

What will be an even more important resource at this school is early intervention preschool class, which will be for children who are four and five years of age and who have ASD. However, the NCSE is proposing to close this early intervention preschool class at the end of this academic year. I cannot stress enough the importance of this early intervention preschool class. It is an incredible and important resource for children with ASD and their families. I urge the Taoiseach to do everything possible to ensure that this closure does not happen. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has acknowledged my representation in relation to this matter. It is vital that we keep this resource open. My understanding is that there is an intention to phase out these classes right across Ireland.

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