Five children with autism have brought separate High Court actions over the Minister for Education’s alleged failure to provide them access to education

Cara Darmody is campaigning for the Government to carry out autism assessments of need for children within the legal limit of six months.

The branch sensory environment has been enhanced to include changes in lighting to make the public areas of its buildings warmer and more accessible.

The autistic boy has had to return to pre-school because of an apparent delay in providing a modular classroom to hold 12 extra pupils

She says she was "taken aback" that there was a waiting time of six years between applying for an assessment and the proposed receipt of HSE services in 2028.

Bus Éireann has been unable to procure a service to bring the boy to school

Kate Raftery, from Dublin, addressed parents camping outside the Department of Education to protest over a lack of special education school places

Charlotte Cahill, whose daughter Cyra is autistic, said she believes the lack of school places for children with additional needs is getting worse

The boy’s mother has brought an urgent High Court application seeking orders compelling either agency to provide him with an appropriate placement

It was claimed the defendants breached his rights by failing to make available compulsory education for him between the ages of 15 and 18.

The settlement is the end of a long legal road for the family of Keith Callaghan who first initiated proceedings over 10 years ago

The boy has speech and language delay and requires significant help from an adult to keep him safe.

The boy, who cannot be named, exhibits developmental delay, is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

The allegations were made by a now former staff member who alleged the children in the school's special autism unit were pulled and dragged "countless times" by two other staff members

The 33-year-old Wrexham footballer revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with autism.

A teacher and a school principal have appeared before a fitness-to-teach inquiry over the alleged inappropriate removal of headphones from the boy

It is the highest award so far against the HSE related to the care provided by the South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services