The Taoiseach will be aware that An Agreed Programme for Government refers to helping all children to develop to their full potential. Will he indicate how this can be possible in the case of a child aged seven and a half years with autism who has not received speech or occupational therapy for two years? He is one of 50 children whose parents were obliged to protest on Monday outside the offices of the North-Eastern Health Board in Kells.

Is the Taoiseach aware that from today, children at St. Mark's national school, Tallaght, will protest outside the Dáil because their two special language classes have been without speech therapists for some time? No advertisements have been placed to fill the posts. The INTO has said it should be a cause of national embarrassment that parents of children with special needs have to protest outside health board offices and the Parliament to demand the resources their children need.

Will the Taoiseach, as a matter of urgency, raise with the Minister for Health and Children and the Minister for Education and Science these major deficiencies in the provision of care for children with special needs? Will he also undertake to provide the necessary resources to ensure and increase the supply of qualified health professionals? Will he consider the establishment of a national speech and language therapy service to help children with special needs to reach their full potential, as An Agreed Programme for Government commits?

I am aware that over recent years there has been a lack of staff, especially in the areas of autism and special needs. For that reason, the last Government and this one have increased dramatically the number of special needs teachers by over 1,000. I am not saying that fulfils the needs of every school. There has been an enormous increase in the service within schools and communities and in the national service.

As has been pointed out, there are still some major difficulties regarding people with intellectual disabilities in school care, residential care and home care, which I acknowledge. This year, given a difficult capital programme, the Government endeavoured to deal with that on the capital, pay and non-pay sides. We have provided over 1,500 new day care places in recent years. Many non-residential places have also been created.

I have met a number of the groups associated with autism, not those the Deputy mentioned, and we will continue to try to deal with the matter. The Deputy would admit that, in the past three or four years in particular, the increases in resources, staff, equipment and structures for children with autism have been enormous. I will take on board the concerns of the Deputy and others to try to continue to increase the number of places for children with autism.

I cannot acknowledge the Taoiseach's response that there has been a significant improvement in the provision of resources for children with special needs in the past two or three years. The reality denies that claim. The families who protested outside the North-Eastern Health Board offices on Monday, and those who will protest outside this House today, will find it impossible to recognise the picture the Taoiseach painted in his reply. I ask the Taoiseach again to affirm that he will take the necessary action and intervene to prompt both the Ministers for Education and Science and Health and Children to address the issue of special needs.

We are talking about resources for children. Just to show how mean-spirited and penny-pinching is the current attitude towards children, I refer to the decision of the Minister for Education and Science to stop completely the physical education and sports grant, which amounted to a mere €2.5 million.

Only one question is allowed.

This is related in terms of resources for children across the board. Will the Taoiseach address that and ensure that such a paltry sum is restored to children for their physical well-being?

There are almost 1,000 teachers dealing with autism. Additionally, there are 3,500 special needs assistants working in classrooms. The Deputy will acknowledge that that represents a huge increase over a short period because we came from a position in which there were hardly any special needs teachers or assistants. Both Deputies Martin and Woods, as Minister and former Minister for Health and Children, changed that quickly. There were under 100 special needs teachers in the State and they increased this number to over 1,000; they also increased the number of special needs assistants to 3,500.

In addition, an enormous number of extra training places were provided in the fields of physiotherapy, speech and language training and occupational therapy. Many of the relevant issues in this respect are addressed on a statutory basis in the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill. Discussion have been ongoing with the organisations dealing with disabilities groups. They have outlined what they would like to see in the legislation. They have also acknowledged the huge increases and have made 68 submissions the content of which they want reflected in the Act.

I acknowledge that sufficient resources do not exist in every part of country because we have moved from having little or nothing four years ago. We shall continue to make progress but we should acknowledge what has been achieved.