One of the main issues raised in my constituency office is the lack of appropriate school places for children with additional needs. Every year, it seems to be getting worse, with more parents upset and worried about their children's future. Recently we had the announcement of the new inclusive special classes, which appears to be a plan to increase class sizes without a similar increase in staff, funding and support. I find that very worrying. I want to raise with the Minister the case of Strapolin Educate Together National School in my constituency. This school has been a leader in inclusive education. It has the space to accommodate additional autism classes on campus but it needs modular classrooms to do this. The community is left with a bizarre situation: the NCSE has agreed there is demand for two additional classes, but when the latest list of additional special classes was released by the Department last week, they were not included. The school authorities say one of the reasons it has been told the modular units will not be sanctioned is that the school building is too new. Seriously, how can the age of a building have anything to do with the level of demand in our area? I urge the Minister and Minister of State to examine this case, in particular. On the overall motion, let us be clear: we need to see this problem solved. Children need to be put first because this is an issue on which we cannot wait any longer. We need to see the additional funding and resources for September. In the long term, we need a comprehensive plan that will deal with staffing, SNA supports, class sizes and funding.

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