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

We will have to agree to disagree on that. I am not going to say something that is incorrect. There was consultation with the education partners. We listened to their feedback and concerns and they were included in this review.

The Deputy mentioned children with complex needs. As Minister of State with responsibility for special education, I can say that it will never be the case that the needs of children with complex needs are not taken into account. The review makes sure children with the greatest level of need will get that attention. They are supported under this model by the use of reliable and accurate school-level data from standardised tests. Gender will no longer be used as an input, which is a progressive step. It is accepted that female pupils have similar levels of need to male pupils, which can manifest later in their development. The new model is more reliable and more responsive to each school's profile of need.

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