Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator and I share her wish that she will be able to give that information to those parents soon. Two of the most important things that are present here are the political will and the budget to do this. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has used every tool in her negotiations armoury and made every effort to make progress on this. Part of the aim here is to reduce the need for transport because it imposes a burden on people to have to travel a long way to school. Children need not just a driver, but also an escort and so on, which incurs huge costs. We are trying to move towards a situation where children can attend their local school and are given the supports they need locally.

The Senator has acknowledged that huge progress is being made and the numbers are there to prove it. While the number of classes and places has increased, that is no comfort to the parents whose children are not getting the support they need. The statistics are of little comfort to the parents she is representing who are worried about whether their child will have a place next year but I assure her that we are doing everything we can.