Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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38. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans for autism-specific schools and autism-specific services within mainstream schools; and the preference of her Department going forward. [39666/20]

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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I am curious to know the plans of the Department for autism-specific schools and the unique services they can provide for the children who need them. My concerns are of course with the dedicated campaigners for an autism-specific school and inclusion in the Dublin 12 area. Deputy Bríd Smith has been very supportive of them and would love to hear the reply to this question.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. My Department's policy is to provide for the inclusive education of autistic students in mainstream schools to the greatest extent possible.

As we know, autism is a spectrum condition, so some autistic students require relatively little support in school and are largely independent in their learning, while others require significant levels of support. There is therefore not one preferred educational approach for autistic students and rather there is a range of provision, sometimes described as a continuum, which takes into account the assessed educational needs of individual students. All students with special education needs are served by this continuum of provision, ranging from full-time enrolment in classes in mainstream schools with or without additional supports to a special class in a mainstream school to full-time enrolment in special schools.

This continuum is supported by significant investment by the Government at €2 billion or 20% of the total education spend. This funds the provision of additional teachers, special needs assistants and other supports required to enable children with special needs to access education. My Department's policy is that new special schools are be designated as "community special schools" and resourced to serve those children within the community who require special school placement rather than be limited to any specific category of disability.

The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has been asked to provide policy advice on the future of special schools and classes and the advice is expected before the end of the year, as I mentioned earlier to Deputy Ó Laoghaire. The evidence-based advice will take account of local and international perspectives, including the views of stakeholders. In the meantime, my Department will continue to support the current continuum of provision, which includes special class and special school places.

There is specialised provision for children in autism and there are now 1,836 special classes in place compared with only 548 in 2011, so there has already been significant progress.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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I thank both the Minister and Minister of State as they have met representatives of the campaign group and made time to do that. It would be beneficial to meet the group again and see the site it proposes for use. There is an empty school building and the group has engaged with the owners. These people have found a patron. They are putting all the pieces together and it would be a really positive move for the Minister and Minister of State to meet the group.

There are several schools in the area and two health centres that could provide speech and language and occupational therapy. These are the multidisciplinary supports that the children who would ultimately use the school would need. The NCSE report indicates a lack of provision in the area already.

There is an opportunity to create that community of which the Minister of State speaks. It would be a community and education hub where all the children and parents could be together across the road from each other and the other services they need. There is an amazing opportunity here. I encourage the Minister and Minister of State to meet the campaigners on the site and see the proposed school if at all possible.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank Deputy Costello for allowing me to speak on the matter. We had a virtual meeting that involved the Minister of State and it was made clear that she would visit the proposed school and the community.

That is imperative now, because as the Minister of State herself said, a report expected before the end of the year. We are almost at the end of the year as it is 1 December today. There is not much time left to do this and for the Minister of State to get some idea and, we hope, to make some promise in respect of what she has said previously,which is that the future of special needs education should be in community designated special needs schools. This unit is a model for a community-based special needs facility, as was stated by Deputy Costello, and this is because of the engagement of the community, the parents and the families of the children. It is absolutely outstanding. The Minister of State has witnessed this at the meetings, and it would be a big plus and an absolute necessity for her to try before the end of the year to go down and meet the parents, the kids and the community in respect of the autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit in Crumlin.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for their contributions, and they are correct in saying that I have met with a number of different groups in respect of the issue of ASD units and special classes. Indeed, in Dublin 6W there are four special educational needs, SEN, classes and four ASD classes, in Dublin 8 there are eight SEN classes and eight ASD classes, and in Dublin 12 there are 17 SEN classes and 17 ASD classes. The Deputies will also be aware that I have triggered the section 37A mechanism of the Education Act 1998, and on 2 November we issued the second section 37A notices to schools, compelling them to open special classes where they have the capacity to do so, and it is the view of the Department that there are at least 25 schools that would be in a position to do so. The NCSE, in fairness, has already opened 197 new special classes this year alone without having to use the relevant legislation, so it always tries to work with schools collaboratively.