One of the things that has been graciously welcomed in recent years is the expansion of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units in many of our schools. However, I am finding that this expansion is displacing childcare facilities and that there is a scarcity of places, particularly for younger children. This is rampant across my constituency and I am sure it is the same across the constituencies of others.

Should the national development plan, NDP, capital, which will not be triggered until 2025, be brought forward so that we can start to fill some of those gaps? Should we give the county childcare committees more of a mandate to address gaps that exist?

I did not quite get the connection between ASD units, primary schools and the-----

Many schools that had spare classrooms allowed childcare facilities to be established there but now the priority is to children in the schools, so they have to ask those childcare providers to leave to put in the ASD units.

The capital funding is there. There is no difficulty in increasing capital funding.

Not for childcare.

We can do it for childcare. If solutions come forward, we can provide the funding. I am endeavouring to say that we do not have to wait until 2025 to review the NDP. We can work to provide capital funding, either for the school setting where the playschools were or for stand-alone supports through the childcare budget.

That would be welcome.