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

I thank Deputy Lowry for his question. Obviously, as Minister responsible for special education, I take the matter very seriously. We must always have an adequate number of places in special classes. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is tasked, through its special educational needs organisers, SENOs, with working with schools on the ground to make sure every child with additional needs can make the transition from primary school to post-primary school. If we consider the progress we have made since 2011, we note we have increased the number of special class places by 386%, from 584 to 2,118. This year alone, we opened 269 special classes, 74 of which were for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, pupils at post-primary level. Next year, we will be opening 287 special classes, 101 of which will be for post-primary level. We have continued to work with the NCSE and the Department, including through the SENOs. There is always support available so if the Deputy is aware of families in need of it, he should make sure they notify the Department or let me know about them, or they can engage with the National Council for Special Education.

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