Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State recently visited Coláiste Chú Chulainn in Dundalk and the two ASD classes there. Many parents have come to me and their issue is ensuring that their kid coming from primary school has a space in an ASD unit, if that is what is suitable, in secondary school. We have insufficient places or classes. At the Joint Committee on Autism a number of stakeholders recently stated that they believe one the solutions is that the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 would be altered from a point of view of allowing special education kids a 24-month run-in. That would allow schools to do preparatory work and ensure resourcing was in place and ready for the kids. Then if it was the case that a school was a bit slow in putting an ASD class in operation, section 37A could be put into action.

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