Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister of State.

The purpose of this matter is to seek that the Minister for Education and Skills provide an update on the proposal by fee-paying schools to waive their fees for students wishing to attend State-funded autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units in their complexes. This is about inclusion and ensuring that people have the same opportunities for education, regardless of whether they pay fees. There has been a major change in policy over the past decade whereby ASD special units have been set up throughout the country. Every parish now has one of these units and this has given rise to a major improvement in the services being provided. It is about inclusion and having these units in primary and secondary schools. However, there is an anomaly in the system. Fee-paying schools seemed to be looked upon differently by the Department of Education and Skills when it comes to these units. In correspondence, I have asked the Department to explain its policy on fee-paying schools and these units. The Department has replied that it currently has no policy to support the establishment of special classrooms in fee-paying schools. That is a major step backwards.

In 2017, Bandon grammar school was approved for such a unit but then had the approval pulled because it was deemed to be a fee-paying school. The school was willing to waive all fees for any student who wished to attend the unit. This is about inclusion and providing the opportunity for people to be educated in whatever setting they deem appropriate. The fact the Department of Education and Skills has no policy to support such a scenario is bizarre. We need to look at this in another light at how we can improve the actual scenario to ensure that people who want to be educated, whether privately or in a public school, will have the opportunity to go to these units.These special units are a major step forward. They have brought clarity and freedom to families, as people have wanted for generations. Unfortunately, we have a system breakdown. We need to look at the establishment of a policy for fee-paying schools, so they have the opportunity, particularly in a scenario like that at Bandon Grammar School, to waive the fees they usually apply to students and the schools can provide the service that the community wants. That is what this is about, namely, providing the service that the community wants.

I put the proposal to the Minister of State that there should be a change in policy. The Department of Education and Skills needs to work with all schools, fee-paying and non-fee-paying, to ensure that these units, which are a godsend for so many families, can be established in every school.