Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to meeting Cara and working with Deputies who are like-minded on this issue across this House. It is an area in which we can make progress together but one in which we really need to do that. I will check with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, but my memory tells me the publication of that document is imminent. The strategy is much awaited and a lot of work has gone into it. I will confirm that in writing to the Deputy. I should also have said that in reconstituting this Government, I appointed my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to have responsibility at the Cabinet table for special needs education. I thought that was another important lever we could pull in amplifying the voices of people with a disability, particularly from an education point of view. Another area we can look at quite quickly is career guidance for children in special schools. I was kind of astonished to realise that this does not happen at the moment. I was, until very recently, the Minister for third level education. We now have courses for students with intellectual disabilities in third level but if you are in a special needs school, you do not have access to career guidance supports. The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and I just published a new strategy on career guidance. That is one of the actions in it on which I would like to see early movement. I take the Deputy's point about the geographic inequity and the need to map out properly the delivery of both our school and health services. I will keep in touch.

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