The Government's lack of forward planning in respect of special education school places is holding children back from achieving their full potential. The Government has had plenty of warning about this. The Milne family first appeared on "Prime Time" three years ago when the Tánaiste held the post of Taoiseach. The Government knows the number of children with special educational needs who need school places. The eleventh-hour announcement by the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, this week that she will begin to issue section 37A notices to compel schools to open special units is a day late and a dollar short. Families again fear that they are going be left with no school places due to this Government's failure. I ask the Tánaiste to explain to concerned families out there how the Government will meet its programme for Government commitment to ensure that every child with a special education need has an appropriate school place?

I am deeply conscious of the anxiety experienced by many families where there are no appropriate school place available to them. Indeed, this is a hot issue in Dublin 15 in my own constituency, where we need approximately three additional special classes. There was a hot-and-heavy public meeting about the matter this week. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the Ministers of State, Deputies Chambers and Madigan, and I are working on solutions at present.

There has been a major increase in provision for special needs in recent years. The budget for special needs now is more than €2 billion, which is 25% of the education budget. There has, therefore, been a big increase in provision of special education. The number of special education teachers, for example, is now 14,000 - it was only 10,000 in 2011 - and there are additional special classes as well. By any objective measure, there has been a real improvement in provision and a big increase in resources for special education, both in terms of money and teachers. I know that butters no parsnips and gives no comfort to parents who cannot get places for their children. We need to get that sorted out well in advance of September.