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

The issues and challenges that pertain to children with educational needs are very close to the Senator's heart and he raises them in the Chamber regularly. One step I want to take in my position as the first Minister of State with responsibility for special education is to ensure we provide special class places and special school places for all children with additional needs, whether in south Dublin, south Cork or wherever it is in the country. That is something I am determined to do. To that end, in the budget last year, I secured €2 billion for special education for that very purpose, among other needs, for special education teachers, special needs assistants, SNAs, and other matters.

As the Senator will be acutely aware, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, works, through its special educational needs organisers, SENOs, very closely with schools and parents to ensure we can provide all these class places. We use a five-year forecasting model, which has recently been enhanced, to determine the capacity of those schools and places throughout the country. We are aware that issues have arisen in recent years regarding a shortage of suitable school places in certain pockets of the country, driven primarily by the significant increase in the number of children with additional needs and in demand. I heard what the Senator said about boys in the context of autism, but there has also been exponential growth in the incidence of girls with autism too, and there are a number of reasons for that. Perhaps the enhanced method of diagnosis has resulted in that. It is important there is suitable school accommodation for all children and, through that more enhanced national and local-level planning, it is my objective that all special education places can come on stream in a timely manner.

Turning specifically to St. Mary's Boys' National School in Booterstown, I note that a Zoom meeting will be held on the matter tomorrow evening. The Department and the NCSE are grateful to schools that continue to respond positively in terms of trying to provide that education but we accept that there are circumstances in which there simply is not sufficient capacity, particularly in urban areas where there is high density and schools simply do not have room. I can confirm the Department has been in contact with the parish in regard to the potential acquisition of the Booterstown parish hall and the Senator and I are ad idemon that. It is something I very much agree with. Evaluation of the hall has been received and assessed by Department officials and the Department is negotiating with the owners for the potential acquisition of the site. The Senator will appreciate that due to commercial sensitivities, it is not possible to provide further information at this time. Nevertheless, the acquisition is a priority for the Department and my officials will keep the patron informed of any key developments regarding the acquisition. The site's acquisition is, obviously, complex and subject to the success of the negotiation and the conveyancing processes, and I would not like to say anything that would in any way jeopardise the outcome of that. In those circumstances, it is not possible to give a definitive timeframe but I am hopeful there will be a speedy conclusion and resolution. It is very important for the parents and the children with additional needs that we expedite this.