Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can hear the Senator's frustration on behalf of the parents of children with special needs and their journey, and I share her concern. As the very first dedicated Minister for special education, I am going to do precisely what she asked and make the entire process of locating a placement whether it is a special class or special school as easy as possible because at the moment it is unsatisfactory. I will outline this matter in my contribution.

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I want to acknowledge the tremendous work done by Involve Autism and the Dublin 12 campaign, both of whom I have met. Many of the parents have become activists as a result of their children's issues and challenges that they have had to face when dealing with the Department and the system.

Next year, as the Senator will know, we will have a record breaking €2 billion investment in education or 20% of the overall budget. As a result, the number of special education teachers, and special classes and school places will be at an unprecedented level, which is a step forward in the right direction.

Since my appointment I have met not just Involve Autism and the Dublin 12 campaign groups but a number of different associations and advocates for the special education sector. They have raised a number of issues with me that I hope to tackle through action priorities. I have published a list of my action priorities. I intend to itemise them and state deadlines and timelines for achieving those goals. Through both better planning at local and national levels, it is my objective to have special education places to meet the stream of emerging demand. The Senator talked about the number of autistic children. The data is something that we are looking at in terms of collecting and harvesting the information.

A forecasting model is being developed by the National Council for Special Education so that in the future this perennial issue, where there is a dearth of special class places, is tackled from a demographic perspective. It is important to note that the growth of autism has grown exponentially not just in Ireland but throughout the world and constantly evolves, which we have noted is particularly true for girls.

I am very conscious that there are some parts of the country, including south Dublin, in which there has been an increase in population that has led to valid concerns about the shortage of school places. I assure the Senator that the NCSE is continuing its engagement with schools, patron bodies, parents and others across south Dublin to bring the required additional special education placements onstream.The Senator will be aware that Scoil Colm has been identified as a potential location in terms of the provision of additional special school places for the area and my Department has had engagement with the building owner in this regard. Discussions are ongoing regarding the next steps in utilising this accommodation for special school places.