Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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I thank the Minister for being here in person to discuss this matter with me. It is greatly appreciated.

I rise to speak on behalf of four boys from Dublin's north side whose parents do not have a school place for them in September with the only reason being that these children have autism. I refer the Minister to the report launched today from AsIAm entitled Invisible Children - Survey on School Absence and Withdrawal in Ireland's Autism Community. I believe some representatives from the organisation are in the Public Gallery. Some of the report's findings are quite stark and some of the representations made today were quite upsetting.

It is a survey involving around 300 parents. The findings showed that 35% said that they had applied to anywhere between four and seven different schools while seeking a place for their child. A total of 54% of these parents felt that our lack of school places was the largest barrier for their child in accessing education, supported by a further 18% who said that the chief obstacle was a lack of nearby schools or classes in the local catchment areas. When someone's child gets a diagnosis, what effectively happens is that he or she is handed a sheet of paper with a list of schools on it and told to do his or her best. Some of the schools I spoke to parents about were in places as far away as Drogheda. I will read into the record the names of the four children with whom I am dealing with currently. They are Oliver Lynam, Mason Kelly, James Field, whose mother Alison spoke at the launch today, and Riley O'Keefe. They have no place to go in September with the only reason being that they have autism.

The manner in which we deal with these parents really needs to be investigated and improved. We are giving a list of schools to a parent and telling him or her do his or her best. While some schools will say "Yes", in this case most of them said "No". I know we have the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, which would challenge some of the attitudes displayed or responses given by some of the schools and I want to get the Minister's response to that.

The fall-back position, which the parents do not want because they want their children to go to a school setting, mix with other children and have that engagement, is the potential to home school the children but, again, parents are told to find a home school tutor themselves. Unless we are professionals in the field, none of us is qualified to know what kind of home tutor will benefit our child.

Again, I talk to other parents who are on a very long waiting list to get assessments. Today I spoke to another parent, Mark, about his daughter, Abigail, and how they have tried to get early intervention and have waited for effectively two and a half years to get it.

The Minister knows that once a parent gets a diagnosis, it is as if he or she must start waging a war with a system that should care for and be compassionate to him or her. The parent faces a challenge with this diagnosis and a child he or she loves, cares for and wants to do his or her best for. Simultaneously, the parent automatically becomes a kind of political campaigner, which is not the way it should be.

On behalf of those four children about whom I spoke, can the Minister give me and the parents some assurance that these children will have a school place in September? We need a long-term conversation about how we deal with parents in this situation. It probably falls between the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Health, which is probably part of the difficulty but certainly the shocking experience these parents are going through has really come to light in the past number of months. It is now April and will be May before too long. These four children do not have a school place for September.I am sure there are hundreds of other parents in the same situation, as has been outlined by the report issued today and as has been reported in The Irish Timesas recently as yesterday. I would appreciate the Minister's response.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir fá choinne na ceiste iontach tábhachtach agus iontach dáiríre seo. Táim oscailte maidir leis an chomhrá atá de dhíth i ndiaidh na díospóireachta inniu.

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I value the Senator's observation that we need to look at the process and different ways that we can help in the process as well. I am open to that idea.

Enabling children with special educational needs, including autism, to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for Government. At present, we are investing heavily in supporting our children with special educational needs, with €1.8 billion being spent annually, which is almost €1 in every €5, or 19% of the overall education budget. This includes an allocation of over €300 million towards providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools.

Since 2011, the number of special classes has increased from 548 in 2011 to 1,459 across the country now, of which almost 1,200 are autism special classes. The National Council for Special education, NCSE, an independent agency of my Department, is responsible for planning, co-ordinating and advising on education provision for children with special educational needs. The council ensures that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements. Individual school boards of management are responsible for the establishment of special classes. It is open to any school to make application to the NCSE to establish a class. When the NCSE sanctions the establishment of a special class or the expansion of special school provision in a school, the school can apply to my Department for capital funding to reconfigure existing spaces within the school building to accommodate the class and-or to construct additional accommodation. Where families are experiencing difficulty in securing a placement for their child, it is recommended that they work closely with the NCSE's teams of locally-based special education needs organisers, SENOs, who will assist and advise them. SENOs also support and advise schools.

My Department has no role in seeking a suitable school placement for individual children. Accordingly, I have arranged for the details of the four children provided by the Senator to be forwarded to the NCSE for its urgent attention. The NCSE is aware of the recent demand for additional special class and special school placements in the Dublin area. The council is actively engaging with schools, school patrons, parents, NEPS, health professionals and others who are involved in the provision of services for children with special educational needs to ensure that each child has a school placement appropriate to his or her needs for the 2019-20 school year. This work is ongoing. We are aware that enrolments in some schools have not yet been finalised for next year. We expect a clearer picture to emerge in the coming weeks. If additional places are required, the NCSE will work with schools and other stakeholders to ensure this need is met. My Department is liaising closely with the NCSE in this regard.

I reiterate this is a process. It can be a difficult process for parents who have gone through preschool with their child and are ready to take that next step. Like all parents, one likes to see a smooth transition, whether from preschool to primary or primary to secondary. I believe in working together and the good work of the likes of the AsIAm group, which I met in the early days of my new post. There are aspects that Government misses. There are aspects that officialdom misses. If there are gaps, I am certainly willing to work with the Senator in that regard. We live in a special time where we are trying to include all our children. Whether in special classes or in special schools or in the mainstream setting, that choice is so important. It is important that we continue to work hard and focus on that.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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I deeply appreciate the Minister's sentiments.

I have a number of issues with the Minister's response, one being that the school can apply to the Department.What happens if a school is not necessarily minded to apply? Sometimes it is easier to say "No". The fact the Department has no role in seeking a suitable school place for individual children will be of little comfort to the parents with whom I am dealing. We can see the difficulty. The NCSE is acting against schools, school patrons, parents, NEPS and health professionals. So many agencies are involved and parents go from one to the other to try to get a place for their children. I appreciate that the Minister acknowledges there are gaps, that it is not good enough and that working together we can find solutions. I appreciate that his official reply states a clearer picture will emerge in the coming weeks. This is fair enough. If we can discuss it again in a number of weeks' time we will have a clearer picture of where these four children are at and what the NCSE has come up with. Certainly, the entire system needs to change to be an awful lot more sympathetic and to rally around these parents who receive a diagnosis. Let us keep in contact and keep the conversation going. What these parents are going through is not good enough and the Minister appreciates this. He has also acknowledged that there are gaps, so let us work together to fill them and ensure the rights of the children I have named, Oliver, Mason, James and Riley, are vindicated and that they have a school place in September.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I am trying to evaluate the communication that takes place when SENOs give parents a list of potential schools. If some of the schools are already filled up, it creates massive frustration for parents. I want to see if we can get a bit better at simple communication and providing relevant information. It is a very important time for parents when their children go into a new school environment. I am happy to continue to work with the Senator on parents being put in a position where they feel they must fight for something.