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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Senator Micheál Carrigy has an interest in this area and has discussed it with the Deputy at length. I am the first Minister of State with responsibility for special education. There are a number of different measures that we have put in place over the last year in terms of ensuring we have sufficient capacity to meet the growing demand in particular areas, not just in Dublin and Cork, but in Athlone, Roscommon and other areas.

I will be meeting the National Council for Special Education tomorrow and I will bring up Athlone and Roscommon. The National Council for Special Education is saying to me that, at present, it is confident it will meet the demands for special class places and special school places for September for both Roscommon and Athlone. In Athlone, Moate and Roscommon, there are currently 42 special class places for autism students in post-primary and, although the Deputy might not be aware of the fact, there will be the opening of two new post-primary special classes from September of this year in Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in Roscommon and Scoil Mhuire in Strokestown, which will mean an additional 12 places there as well. For any of those children in Athlone - the Deputy may have mentioned there are eight children there - the National Council for Special Education is also telling me, through its special educational needs organisers, that it will have sufficient capacity for those children for September of this year.

In direct response to the Deputy’s questions, if it is the case that there are not sufficient places for children with additional needs in the areas he has mentioned, then I will have no hesitation in instigating section 37A, particularly in post-primary schools. From the demographics I have seen and from the geographical information system, it seems to me there is this gap between primary and post-primary in particular, not just in the Deputy’s area but in other areas throughout the country, and that is not satisfactory. The Deputy will be aware that the majority of special classes and places in special schools are created via collaboration and ongoing engagement with schools in a cordial and constructive way. I am reluctant to use section 37A because it is a blunt instrument but, nevertheless, it is there for a reason. It is a statutory mechanism that is specifically tasked to me, as the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, and I will use it where I need to do so.

The forecasting model we have in place since last year has already borne fruit in certain areas and the planning and building unit is now working directly with the National Council for Special Education, in a way that it was not before, on an integrated planning and forecasting process. It shares its geographical system with the National Council for Special Education so we can see building projects in real-time in each geographical area, which is critical. That is on top of the fact that we already had a commitment for the very first time from the Department of Education that all new schools from last year will automatically provide special class facilities and sensory rooms going forward, so we do not have this perennial problem year after year.

See this speech in context