Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government pledged that children who have a diagnosis of autism and who require either a special class or a special school placement to meet their assessed needs will get those places. Despite the child being in primary school for many years, it should come as no surprise to the Government the child will then progress to secondary school. Yet, each year parents face a last-minute scramble to find such places. This is due to a lack of proper forward planning by the National Council for Special Education and a lack of a political will from Government to tackle this annual issue which unnecessarily stresses out parents, children and schools. Has the Government any ongoing plan to avoid this yearly debacle?

It is just a firefighting exercise constantly.

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