Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am well aware of what exists in my constituency. I am also well aware of the experiences parents are continuing to have. I referenced the Ombudsman for Children's report last year. Today we read that of the 1,812 complaints to that office in 2022, education accounted for 30%. The report specifically references the many barriers children are facing in education, and special education in particular. The Minister of State mentioned SENOs and the NCSE. There is not a parent of a child with additional needs that I know of who is not well aware of those entities and in constant contact with them.

The public consultation on the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act recently finished. The Department spoke of engaging with schools, parent groups, student organisations and so on. Will the Minister of State commit to publishing an interim report on the review of the EPSEN Act? Will she also commit to implementing, in a timely fashion, any recommendation that comes from that? As we stand here today there are parents with children who have a special educational need who do not know where they are going in September. Their peers are talking with great excitement about new schools, new teachers, new everything and these children are sat there with no information and no guarantee they will even have a school place.

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