Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to raise this issue. The SENO, or special educational needs organiser, plays a vital role in the provision of special education or education for additional needs. They have done tremendous work in working with boards of management, school authorities and with families throughout the country.

Over the recent while, I have noticed from my engagement at both constituency level and nationally with the disability matters committee that there are vacancies around the country for SENOs. This is a vital cog in the provision of special education. It is challenging for families and schools when they are trying to make provision and integrate kids into mainstream or special schools to get the necessary resources. There is a long process with regard to assessment of need and all the other traumatic steps that parents have to take to try to get the possible education service for their kids. There is no doubt but that there is great work going on within the school communities, with the teachers and SNAs, and from my own experience they are superb human beings. They go absolutely above and beyond the call of duty.

We then get feedback with regard to people trying to engage to get further resources, be it resource teaching or special needs assistants, into the school. It may be that the initial information or request that was sent in to the special needs council for additional help may have changed. The dynamics or the need within the classroom may have changed. This is particularly the case during school terms, when the school authorities are reaching out to the SENO to get guidance or information or to put a case together to go to the Department to get special resources. What we have seen is that the positions of SENOs are not filled throughout the country.

First, I ask whether we can get the figures and facts on the matter and to ensure that it is taken very seriously. As I said, special needs co-ordinators are the most vital cog in reaching out between the parent, the family, the child, the school authority and the Department for resources. This is a hugely important enabler for those people.

I have been in discussions with a number of school authorities over the last while. They said there was no SENO working at the moment and that they are relying on SENOs from different areas to cover the vacancies. That is simply not acceptable. In this day and age, all of us want to make sure that every instrument of the State is available to ensure the best outcomes for kids with additional needs right through the school and education cycle. I ask the Minister of State to give us an update on the existing vacancies and I will come back to it in a few moments, if that is okay with the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for his question and I am pleased to take this opportunity on behalf of the Department of Education to assure him and this House that not only will all vacant SENO posts across the country be filled but there will be a significant increase in the number of SENOs employed by the NCSE in the very near future. A nationwide competition for the recruitment of SENOs was advertised in October 2023 with a closing date of 2 November for receipt of applications, and it has had huge interest.

At present, the NCSE advises the Department of Education that three SENO posts are vacant nationwide out of a staffing complement of 73 SENOs. There is a recruitment drive for SENOs under way and the NCSE is also undertaking a strategic review of the organisation. This will see an improvement in how front-line staff are allocated to best meet the needs of children and the schools they attend.

As a result of the significant increase in funding that this Government provided to the NCSE in budget 2023, the NCSE is now undergoing an expansion that will see a 50% increase in the number of staff employed. A huge focus of the increase in staff will be on front-line services and this will see SENO numbers increased by at least an additional 43 staff.

The Department of Education acknowledges the challenges for children, their families and schools that can arise as a result of vacancies in the NCSE, and while the NCSE has always worked to mitigate these challenges, they have been further exacerbated by a significant growth in the need for NCSE services in recent years. At present, each of the 73 SENOs is responsible for approximately 342 children with the most complex needs and for engaging with 55 schools on average. In certain areas, particularly if there was intensive engagement on school placements or exceptional reviews, this could mean multiple visits to a very small numbers of schools.

It was a priority for the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, Deputy Madigan, that the NCSE should expand and develop its services to meet the needs of children with special educational needs in a responsive and child-centred way. That is why we are investing an additional €13 million for the recruitment of up to 161 additional staff into the organisation, including increasing our SENO numbers to 116. It was very important that the NCSE plans effectively for this expansion and for that reason it has undertaken a significant organisational development review over the past 12 months. The Department of Education is pleased to say this will be ready to roll out from January 2024.

The NCSE has undertaken a significant process of engagement with both internal and external stakeholders in the context of the organisational design process. It was critical that the NCSE took this opportunity to evaluate its structure, operating model and resource requirements to deliver on its strategic objectives and be responsive to the needs of students, parents and schools.

As part of the organisational design, the NCSE has identified key drivers in demand for services, underpinned by a robust analysis of data gathered over the last five years. This will ensure that the NCSE can best match current and future resources to specific areas of need on an individual county basis, and that the NCSE will have a working model to project areas of future need so it can respond to and anticipate changing circumstances to meet the needs of children, their families and schools as they arise. In addition, the new detailed organisational design will significantly change the structure of the organisation, including a doubling of the number of regional teams, all of which will contain SENOs and advisers.

The Department of Education is pleased to report that there was a substantial response to the SENO competition I mentioned earlier and it is currently moving through the various selection stages. It is intended that the intake from this recruitment campaign will commence in January, and the new staff will be assigned to fill the small number of existing vacancies and to take up the new positions created as part of the NCSE expansion.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for putting the facts on record. I welcome the additional SENO posts; it is not before time. It is needed because the SENOs are stretched to the limit. There is no merit in a further reply. I thank the Minister of State for putting on record that the vacancies will be filled. I will come back to the issue in February if what was outlined does not come to pass on the ground. I appreciate him putting on record the improvement we expect to see in January.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I take it the Deputy does not need a reply?

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.