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

I thank the Deputy. I concur with much of what he says. Of course we want children to be placed appropriately. If there are children in County Monaghan who do not have a special school place, we need to find them a special school place. I can say, from my direct conversation with the NCSE, that there will be placements for those children in September 2024. I have been assured of that. In regard to the future, I mentioned the forward planning. There is active engagement on this. There is active consideration in relation to a special school. I mentioned the increase in the autism prevalence rate within the population. That indicates clearly that there is going to be a growing demand for the service. I speak to the NCSE in relation to this, as does the Department. The NCSE regional teams have weekly meetings to discuss this. As I said, we have opened seven special schools over the past four years. We are not shy about doing that. Where there is provision-----

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