Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

How many children with autism in the town of Ballincollig have been let down badly by the State and the Government? I know of 21 straight off the bat. They are the boys who attend the Scoil Eoin primary school, who are forced to struggle along in mainstream classes when special classes are what they need. This was recognised three years ago by the National Council for Special Education, which gave the green light for three special classes at the school. Three years on, there is nothing. Why? It is because the Department will not authorise €4.5 million for knock and build, the only option that does not take vital space and services, such as the library, away from other students.

Of course, there are many other children with autism in Ballincollig who are being disadvantaged. They include children who have had to be taken out of Scoil Eoin, away from their brothers and friends, to go to special classes elsewhere, outside the town, often more than half an hour away. I am asking the Minister of State today to arrange a meeting between the Minister and representatives of the school in May, and to encourage the Minister to come to that meeting with some good news for those students and their parents. It is the right thing to do and it has taken too long already.

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