Minister Josepha Madigan has said the creation of special education centres still remains an option
Adovacy group As-I-Am has criticised new plans for special education centres - which they say would lead to autistic children being "segregated" from their peers.
Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan has said the creation of special education centres to cater for children with autism and other intellectual disabilities who cannot secure a school place remains an option.
However, she said she would be open to changing the name.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News yesterday, Ms Madigan said there is "a lot of misperception about what it [special education centres] is meant to be".
She said she believed it was regrettable that it came into the public domain before there was an opportunity to discuss it with stakeholders.
Ms. Madigan has clarified that the proposal is in an early stage and consultations with stakeholders, including As-I-Am, hadn't begun.
But she said the proposal still remains an option.
Speaking on Friday morning's Kildare Today CEO of the charity Adam Harris said the proposal shows a lack of understanding towards autistic children.
Mr.Harris said he is opposed to the specified facilities and says more places need to be created to cater for autistic children in mainstream education:
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