Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 1387: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on the situation where her Department is using millions of euro of taxpayer's money fighting parents in the courts who are trying to access services for their children with autism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29663/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware of the enormous progress made over the past number of years in relation to increasing the number of teachers and other supports in our schools which are specifically dedicated to providing education for children with special educational needs. I wish to assure the Deputy that I am most anxious that all children, including children with autistic spectrum disorders, receive an education appropriate to their needs. It is in recognition of this that my Department currently provides the following facilities for the education of children with autism:

159 Special Classes for children with autism, attached to special and mainstream schools

15 pre-school classes

5 Special classes for children with Asperger's Syndrome

12 Stand-Alone facilities providing an Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) specific methodology.

I can confirm that I will continue to prioritise the issue of special needs education and, in co-operation with the National Council for Special Education, ensure that all children with special needs are adequately resourced.

The litigation the Deputy refers to is brought not by the State but by parents seeking a particular form of provision for their child. The State makes every effort to reach an accommodation with parents while having regard to their genuine concerns and wishes, Government policy, the best interests of the child and the expert advice available to it. In the last 6 years, only 3 cases have gone as far as being ruled upon by the Courts, all of which the State successfully defended. A 4th case is currently awaiting judgement.

To date in 2006 my Department has spent a total of approximately €454,680 on legal costs and settlements associated with court cases relating to educational provision for children with special needs compared to a total of approximately €1.6 million in 2005, €5.64 million in 2004 and €4.3 million in 2003. I wish to assure the Deputy that my Department is not complacent in dealing with these cases and it attempts, whenever possible, to reduce the potential for litigation and the levels of legal costs where litigation arises. Quite often, however, the issue of the plaintiff's legal costs become a barrier to reaching a settled compromise.

The number of cases taken against the State is showing a downward trend and I believe that the establishment of the National Council for Special Education will further assist the reduction in litigation in providing through its special educational needs organisers, a more focused and local response to individual needs. In addition, with the staged implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, parents who believe their child's needs are not being met will have a process of mediation and appeals open to them. These are likely to prove more appropriate, and less costly, forums in the future than pursuing these matters through the courts.