There is a little boy called Rowan in my constituency. He is eight years of age and has still not been able to have his first day at school. He has been diagnosed with ASD and global development delay and, like many others, he has been let down. His mother is struggling to home-school him, with no support from anyone.

Parents of autistic children in some cases apply to 20 or 30 schools for a place for them and get nowhere. How many additional places will be made available for special children like Rowan come September? I am referring not to premises but to actual chairs in classrooms. Will Rowan have to wait until he is nine to go to school? That is what the family faces at the moment.

I thank the Deputy for raising the case of Rowan. I understand he spoke to the Minister of State with responsibility for special needs education, Deputy Moynihan, last evening. He will follow it up as quickly as he can to see whether he can get a resolution to the issue, having regard to its background. We are going to change the application process to have earlier timelines and a common application system. Also, there is to be greater productivity on the part of the NCSE in finding places for children, as opposed to the parents having to do all the heavy work. We need more proactivity in this regard, and that work is under way.