Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Later this afternoon, my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, will introduce Labour's autism Bill, which would create a coherent framework for addressing the needs of children with autism. The need for this sort legislation has become patently clear in recent weeks and months. That need has been clear for a long time for the parents of children with autism who have been waiting for so long to see proper and effective provision made for their children.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a training session involving Ranelagh Rockets, the brilliant initiative of the Ranelagh Gaels GAA club in my area which works with children with autism and provides one-on-one coaching. However, I heard there, as we have all heard throughout the country, about the immense anguish and frustration that many parents are experiencing because they cannot secure appropriate school places for their children and as a result of the immense delays involved. These issues were highlighted just this week in the report of the Ombudsman for Children, which indicates that the Department of Education is failing children with special educational needs. The ombudsman estimates that as many as 15,500 children have to travel outside their local catchment areas every day because there is nowhere available for them in their communities.

We all know the parents. On RTÉ just yesterday, we heard the story of Gareth, a young boy from Athlone who is finishing primary school next week but who cannot secure a secondary school place near him because he is autistic. His mother, Michelle, spoke powerfully about the toll that this has taken on her child. He has stopped attending class altogether because he feels that there is just no point. He is not alone. Some estimates indicate that nearly 270 children in Ireland are without school places for this coming September. We know many more who are waiting for diagnostic assessments to allow them to qualify for school places in the first instance. We are approaching the end of the primary school year. We are approaching the end of June, and we are only beginning to hear now about processes being invoked by the Minister and the Government.

The Ombudsman for Children's report was prompted by the actions of parents. The great group, Involve Autism D6 & D6W & Surrounds, is based in my constituency. Its chairperson, Miriam Kenny, has spoken out powerfully about how the group had to lodge a complaint with the ombudsman to get things moving. That complaint was lodged because of the lack of autism classroom places in Dublin 6 and Dublin 6W despite the existence of the section 37A process.

It is simply not good enough for parents and children to hear that processes are now being invoked this late in the school year and to still lack any clarity or certainty about whether they will be able to attend school anywhere near where they live this September or whether they will be able to attend school at all. The Ombudsman for Children's report is clear that the current failures in the system amount to discrimination against children with special educational needs, especially those with autism. We know that other jurisdictions do so much better than us. They have proper planning in place and they know the numbers of places required. We are failing children. Is the Tánaiste in a position to give any clarification as to school places for those awaiting them?

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