Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I know from working with him in my constituency, Dublin Fingal, that it is a very important issue to him and, indeed, all Members so that we make sure we provide special education places and supports for those kids who need it. That is why the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has been so vociferous in her work to ensure we increase the number of available school places.

This year, the Department of Education will spend €2 billion, which is more than 25% of the Department's budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special needs, and rightly so. It remains an absolute key objective within Government. We have 287 additional special classes with 1,700 new places provided for in 2022-2023.

On the issue involving the Milne family, I agree with the Deputy that no one wants parents to have to raise those issues publicly. The Minister of State is in constant contact with the family. She has met with them and continues to keep them briefed. This evening, she will meet a group of families in the Dublin 15 area about their concerns. This is a real priority for us.

There are an additional 1,665 SNAs in place to provide supports for children with special needs. That brings the total number of SNAs to more than 19,000. As our population grows, we will need more, which is something the Government continues to prioritise.

There are 980 new teaching posts in special education and three new special schools have been opened in Cork and Dublin. That is important. Over €40 million has been made available to fund the summer education programme for pupils with complex special educational needs. We manage the numbers on waiting lists and assess how many people in each area need the supports that they get through our network of special educational needs organisers, SENOs. The work on the SNA allocation for each specific area will be completed by the end of this month. I fully understand why the Deputy is asking for numbers. The numbers change on a daily basis as kids enter the education system. The Deputy will be aware of that. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the Department of Education are focused on continuing to improve the services there. Many of the special educational needs that people have are complex. Each child needs to be assessed individually, as the Deputy knows. I assure the Deputy that we will continue to prioritise the issue. The work on the SNA allocation will be concluded by the end of this month. We should be in a position to be able to give more details once that work is concluded.

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