Last Monday the Government announced the allocation of a €375 million support package for schools to reopen in September. I have consistently highlighted the need to reopen schools not only because of its importance for children's education and their mental health due to the lack of engagement with classmates and even the lack of a regular routine but also for the mental health of parents, especially parents who have been juggling with childcare and employment since last March with no childcare support. We have already seen the impact of the lack of childcare on front-line healthcare staff, and we are seeing it again now as parents struggle to find childcare for young children. If schools do not reopen in September there will be a far bigger childcare crisis.

However, before we face that crisis there is a current crisis with regard to the provision of school places for children with additional needs. This spilled over into the public domain when the former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, wrote to 39 primary schools in south Dublin on 26 June last directing them to establish special classes for four and five year old children with autism in order to immediately accommodate 43 children who have no school next September. The then Minister took this decision on foot of the advice of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which had failed to convince schools in south Dublin to cater voluntarily for students within their catchment. On Tuesday evening, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Madigan, told the Dáil that she understands some progress has already been made and that the NCSE is working with several schools to establish classes in south Dublin for the coming school year.

While a proactive approach has been taken by the Department of Education and Skills to accommodate 43 children in south Dublin next September, the opposite approach has been taken for eight children in south Roscommon and east Galway. St. Teresa's special school, Ballinasloe, is willing to establish an ASD class from next September following a request from the NCSE but the building unit in the Department of Education and Skills says that it cannot have a prefab classroom in place in time. St. Teresa's is so committed to accommodating the eight local children that it has sourced alternative temporary accommodation pending the delivery of the prefab unit but the response from the Department is the same, that due to time constraints the Department cannot open an ASD class in St. Teresa's school, Ballinasloe, this year.

Why are children with autism being treated differently simply because of their address?

Thank you, Deputy, for staying within the time.

I thank Deputy Naughten for raising the important issue of the establishment of an early intervention ASD class in St. Teresa's special school, Ballinasloe. The Deputy has a long-standing interest in disability and looks out for the special educational needs of children in his constituency and beyond. The former Senator, Maura Hopkins, has spoken to me about this issue as well.

The Government is deeply conscious of the worry facing some families in finding suitable accommodation and school places for their children who have special needs. Ensuring that every child has a school place is a priority for the Government, and we have taken a number of actions to achieve this. Where the NCSE identifies the requirement for an ASD early intervention class in an area, the local special educational needs organiser, SENO, will consider all schools in the area with a view to establishing the class. Early intervention classes are not generally established within special schools but there are some exceptions in various places in the country. I am informed that the school in question does not have the physical space to accommodate an early intervention class in the existing school building. Eight children have been identified by the school, however, and some of them are not yet of an age to enrol in early intervention classes at only three years old.

In establishing any special class, the NCSE reviews the current and expected future demand for classes. It has advised the school that it will explore the potential to establish an early intervention class with the school in the near future, but that might not be this school year. The NCSE will continue to engage with and advise the school and the local SENO is available to assist and talk to the parents of children with special educational needs about their options.

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply, but the reality is that there are children in the catchment of the town of Ballinasloe who have no school place for September. The NCSE has asked schools in Dublin to provide accommodation and has asked the Minister for Education and Skills to direct schools to provide that accommodation. There is the opposite situation in Ballinasloe where a school is willing to come forward and provide that facility for children with autism, yet a very different approach is being taken by the Department purely because of geography. Can the Tánaiste advise me of the support these eight families can expect for their children from 1 September and let me know what to say to the parents of those children about the additional supports that will be put in place specifically for them when we are not prepared to provide them with a school, which every child in the State should be entitled to regardless of address?

There has been a phenomenal investment in special education in recent years. The budget is now almost €2 billion. One in every five euro we spend on education is for special education, roughly the same as we spend on higher education. In the last ten years the number of special classes has trebled. There will be an extra 1,000 special needs assistants for schools this year and an additional 120 special education teacher posts, as well as 31 speech and language therapists. A huge amount of investment has gone into special education in recent years, and it is necessary. Saying that, however, is cold comfort for parents who do not have a solution for their child in September. Options can often be put together. Sometimes it can involve a home tuition grant. Another potential option can be a place in another school if it is not possible to provide places in the local school. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, is present and she is interested in this topic. I will ask her to speak to the Deputy directly to see if more can be done because I know the parents will want a plan for their children for this September and for September next year.