Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of ASD special classes in each county or local authority in tabular form. [53417/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The policy of my Department is to ensure that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with Autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.

Almost 18,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. My Department invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:

- 61% of students to attend mainstream schools

- 26% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and

- 13% to attend special schools.

In order to identify need in any area for forthcoming school years, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) refer to professional reports indicating students require the support of a special class. In this regard Parents/Guardians of students with ASD seeking a special class placement should provide the relevant professional report to their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) to inform the planning process. The report must state that:

- S/he has ASD

- S/he has significant learning needs that require the support of a special class setting and the reasons why this is the case.

Since 2011 the NCSE has increased the number of special classes by over 130% from 548 in 2011 to 1,300 across the country in 2017, of which 1,042 are Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) special classes. This reflects the priority which the Government has put on helping children with Special Educational Needs to achieve their potential.

The NCSE, in looking to open special classes, must take into account the present and future potential need for such classes, taking particular account of the educational needs of the children concerned. The NCSE will also take account of location and sustainability in looking to establish special classes in certain areas.

My Department continues to work with the NCSE to ensure that there is appropriate planning in place to ensure that all children who require special class placements can access such placements in schools within their communities.

Details of all special classes for children with special educational needs are available , in county order, on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.