Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his kindness. I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge my party colleagues for sharing time. It is very appropriate and very helpful. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. In many ways, she has what is one of the most burdensome jobs in public life at the moment - trying to ensure that children have the opportunity to go back to school. That will be a very significant issue. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done in this very important area.

Over the last four weeks, society has been divided. There were children who wanted and needed to go back to school because they were, unfortunately, regressing and their parents and guardians but there were also issues regarding unions and teachers wanting the opportunity to express their view, which is that they wanted a safe environment. Achieving a compromise in that regard was very awkward and hard so I compliment the Minister of State and her Department on working to deliver a compromise.

We have seen great changes in the roll-out of the ASD units. This is something I welcome and acknowledge. Most of the primary schools in my part of the world have applied for units and seen them built over recent years. We have a major issue in respect of secondary schools and second level education. That is one of the gaps. I have often mentioned the case of Bandon Grammar School in Bandon town. The Department has denied the school the opportunity to put in such a unit because it is fee-paying. That is an issue at which we need to look. It is an issue of policy. This Church of Ireland school is denied the opportunity to provide the level of education it wants to provide to its community. The fact that the Department will not back the school in this matter is a major issue for me. The governors of the school have even agreed to waive fees for any child attending that unit if it can ever be built, which we hope it will be. I raise this issue with the Minister of State again because it is key. We need access to these units in all school,s whether fee-paying, Church of Ireland or mainstream.We need to look at this issue because this is only one case. I have often had the argument that if it were the other way around and such a fee-paying school did not want the unit, there would be uproar. This case is worthy of reflection by the Department. I ask the Minister of State to consider if we could have a change of policy so that fee-paying schools could have the opportunity to get into it.