Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would very much appreciate that. I know the planning and building unit is a bit of a black box. I think all TDs would love to have more access to the decisions that are made there. If the Minister of State could pass on those concerns, I hope we could get a positive response.

It is really important the Minister of State acknowledges what has happened in our area in recent years, namely, the agreement of schools to open additional ASD classes. Thankfully, the Minister of State has not had to use the new special powers the Government has put in place but I want to acknowledge that in DEIS areas, schools have significant levels of complex needs and I would challenge other areas that perhaps have less on their plate and more advantages to follow the lead.

After we have tried to persuade principals to open an ASD class and they have come on board, they have told me that there is more we need to do in terms of therapies, treatments and supports. The HSE needs to work harder with the Department in terms of supporting those schools that open ASD classes. Some of these facilities are fantastic. The Minister and I visited Coláiste Eoin, which is a second-level school, and it was fantastic as are many others such as Virgin Mary Girls' National School in Ballymun, where we opened that room, but we need the HSE to support them.

All of this activity is at primary school level and all of those children are going to need a second-level place or some second-level support. Some of that might be special schools but, hopefully, some of it will be ASD classes in second-level schools. The current model of limiting the number of ASD classes in a school may not work as well at second level because the number of ASD classes we have opened at primary level will not physically fit into the number of schools we have. I know the Minister of State is working on this matter but my area is already starting to see the creaking demand for second-level places when we have just about started to address primary level.

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