Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas don Teachta as ábhar seo na Saincheisteanna Tráthúla a ardú. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and also thank her, along with her constituency colleague, Deputy Cowen, for meeting Mr. Frank Brennan and Ms Denise Cole. It was a brief meeting but the message was direct and they certainly put on record the importance of this issue. We are treating it seriously.

I assure the House that the education of children with special educational needs remains a key priority for this Government. Amid the unknowns of Brexit and the constraints that this imposed on budget 2020, we remain dedicated to doing our best for the most vulnerable children including those with special educational needs. Equality of opportunity is at the heart of our vision. Currently, €1.9 billion is being invested in special education, almost one fifth of the overall current education and training budget, which includes almost 13,500 special education teachers and nearly 16,000 SNAs. Some 124 special schools with 1,500 teachers cater for more than 8,000 students and an additional 1,000 special class places have been provided in this school year, with the establishment of 167 new special classes. The recent budget includes funding for an additional 1,064 SNA posts, which will be available for allocation next year. This will bring the total number of SNA posts in our schools to 17,000. An additional 23 posts will be provided for special schools, designed to meet expected increases in enrolments in special schools due to increasing enrolments and demographics in 2020, providing more than 8,000 places. It also provides for the continued provision of administrative deputy principal posts in special schools with more than 15 teaching posts introduced in special schools for the first time this September.

A pilot of the new school inclusion model approved by Government on 8 February is being implemented in HSE CHO 7 for this school year, with the continuation of the in-school speech and language and occupational therapy demonstration project to provide in-school and preschool therapy services as part of the school inclusion model. Children who are attending pilot schools and who receive therapy supports from the HSE will also continue to access such services. The in-school therapy model is designed to supplement, not to replace, existing services. Children who require therapy services and who are not attending one of the pilot schools will continue to access services from the HSE. Health therapy supports for children with disabilities, including physiotherapy supports, are provided by the HSE. These services are currently being reconfigured into geographically-based teams for children and young people aged zero to 18 who have complex needs under the executive's national programme, Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People.

The special school to which the Deputy refers has access to physical and sensory therapy supports, including physiotherapy supports from the HSE. The executive also provides nursing support to the school. An application from the school to my Department for funding to rent additional accommodation, including space for physiotherapy supports was unsuccessful as the school confirmed that it does not have an immediate need for the space and my Department would consider the renting of the property in anticipation of the increased need in the coming years. A further letter from the school seeking additional accommodation has been received by my Department and the school's long-term accommodation needs are currently being reviewed by my Department. In a nutshell, there is an updated request and I have asked my officials to look at that to see how we can progress it.

The Department's priority, with the limited funding available, is the provision of essential classroom accommodation in areas where significant demographic need has been established, including special class and special school places, to ensure that each child, including children with special educational needs, will have access to a physical school place.

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