Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The policy of the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is to explore, find out and discover how many special needs places are needed whether it is in special classes, special schools or a child with special needs being integrated into a mainstream class. The Deputy mentioned Cork. St Mary's Special School in Rochestown accommodated an additional six or seven children this year. There are 311 special educational needs classes in total in Cork. There are about 260 ASD classes specifically, including early intervention. The Department has been in discussions with the NCSE, school management and the Cope Foundation through Scoil Aislinn about a possible expansion of places. The Department always looks at short term options and will explore Cork city centre for availability, as well as medium term options including greenfield sites for modular buildings and there are also long-term options.

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