Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am deeply conscious of the anxiety experienced by many families where there are no appropriate school place available to them. Indeed, this is a hot issue in Dublin 15 in my own constituency, where we need approximately three additional special classes. There was a hot-and-heavy public meeting about the matter this week. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the Ministers of State, Deputies Chambers Madigan, and I are working on solutions at present.

There has been a major increase in provision for special needs in recent years. The budget for special needs now is more than €2 billion, which is 25% of the education budget. There has, therefore, been a big increase in provision of special education. The number of special education teachers, for example, is now 14,000 - it was only 10,000 in 2011 - and there are additional special classes as well. By any objective measure, there has been a real improvement in provision and a big increase in resources for special education, both in terms of money and teachers. I know that butters no parsnips and gives no comfort to parents who cannot get places for their children. We need to get that sorted out well in advance of September.

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