Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will contact the NCSE about the review process if it is overly onerous and will give it that feedback. There is significant consultation with all the stakeholders - management, teachers, schools - right across the country in order to ensure that this review process is up to date and that every year we get the correct data in order that this is efficient. The reviews coming back from the NCSE are being prioritised and the council is liaising directly with schools that have applied for this review where they feel they have not got adequate allocation of SETs. That process is under way for some within the Deputy's constituency. Deputy English raised one specific school in that regard. That work will be ongoing, but if the process is very onerous, I will raise that.

As regards the 2024 budget, the Department will spend €2.7 billion on special education, excluding capital expenditure, which is estimated at over €200 million.

Schools have been able to request reviews of their allocations directly from the NCSE through its website portal since 1 March last. A total of 218 applications have been received from schools during this period. Applications received from schools that are developing or rapidly developing receive first priority. Reviews, as the Deputy knows, are conducted by the NCSE between March and May to better enable schools to plan for the following September. This process has commenced and the first tranche of schools, numbering 30, will be contacted over the coming weeks to advise them of additional allocations. It is important that schools that have a concern that they have not got adequate SET allocations go through that review process. I will engage with the NCSE on the issues the Deputy has raised about the process being very onerous.

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