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

I can reassure the Deputy that as Minister of State with responsibility for special education I absolutely do not want to see children or parents, or indeed school staff, out with placards trying to obtain an appropriate placement for their child. Parents should in the first instance contact their local special educational needs organiser, SENO, who will advise them on appropriate placements. It is important to note that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, was given an extra €13 million in the budget this year to hire an additional 160 staff, including SENOs, which will help with communication on the ground. It has often been the case that there is a placement available but that has not been communicated to the parent. We have made real inroads in making sure that communication is kept open. There are a lot of new measures in place. There is the automatic inclusion of special class provision in all new school buildings going forward. There is automatic administrative status for any primary principals with two or more special classes as an incentive. There is the stronger use of the geographical information system, which is absolutely key in forward planning to identify where there is demand and where there is capacity. In the Deputy's own constituency there are 33 special classes in Longford, with 19 primary and 14 post-primary. There are 53 in Westmeath with 35 primary and 18 post-primary.

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