Time is up. I call Deputy McAuliffe.

I raise the issue of special class places and the process for applying for them. For the past six or seven years I have been dealing with parents. Between October and the following June or July many of those parents go through a wasted process of applying to multiple schools. The programme for Government was quite strong in identifying a common application process for special classes. It would make a lot of sense. I have been in contact with the parents of Arlo, Zayn, Thomas, Malcolm, Daniel and Riley. Many parents have come to me. In previous years the list has been far longer. In part this is because nearly a third of the special classes that exist were put in place over the past four years. The last piece in the puzzle is to put in place a common application process so the parents do not have the difficulty of applying for multiple schools. That is the NCSE’s job. It is not an advisory service. It should be the ones finding places and doing so over the period so that, when people leave primary school, there is a place in line at second level.

We are moving to have a centralised portal to make sure there is a centralised system for application. On challenges parents have in finding places, particularly at primary level, and we have 218 sanctioned and huge work is ongoing at departmental level to sanction more, it is a key priority for me and the whole of the Government to make sure that stress of finding places is limited because parents have enough going on. We want to ensure there is a streamlined process. We will work with might and main to make sure that happens. We will work with parents, the NCSE and the Department of Education to ensure a streamlined process. What has happened heretofore is not acceptable into the future. We must also bring certainty to families in the earlier part of the school cycle so they know where their children are going in September eight or nine months to a year before that and not having a huge issue as is happening at the moment.