Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance I want to talk about the National Council for Special Education and how we have expanded it significantly. We made provision in the previous budget for an additional 160 staff and that they would be specifically people who were on the ground, such as the special needs organisers who are engaging directly on the ground with the schools. We also see it now as part of their remit that they engage directly with the parents as well. We have two national co-ordinators within this area of special education now and 21 teams spread across the country to ensure they are actually on the ground and there is a more local approach being taken to the needs of children with additional needs.

We are working very closely with schools on the ground. For example, we have a number of schools that are being targeted for 2025 for additional provision. In larger primary schools where we need to put in additional accommodation, we have put in additional accommodation. Where schools can reconfigure, and some of them can, we provide the funding for the reconfiguration of existing school buildings. As I said, we have more than 3,300 special classes on stream presently and there will be 44,000 dedicated staff working in the area of special education. This budget has also made provision for 1,600 additional SNAs and 768 special education teachers. There is a huge body of work going on in the area of special education and more and more required in that area.