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

I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. It is important to note at the outset that speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy services for children with disabilities predominantly fall under the auspices of the Minister for children while the Minister for Health retains oversight of primary care services and mental health support, which also falls under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. Following today’s Topical Issue matter, I will consult all three Ministers and bring this matter to their attention, particularly on the lack of therapeutic supports, which the Deputy mentioned in his contribution.

The Department of Education is deeply committed to ensuring that every child in Ireland receives the education and support they need to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. It is with this commitment in mind that the Department has embarked on a significant expansion of the DEIS programme, and the Deputy mentioned that Le Chéile National School is within the DEIS category. In March 2022, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced a major expansion of DEIS. An additional €32 million investment in the programme from 2023 increased the Department’s overall spend on the DEIS programme to over €180 million. Approximately 260,000 students, or one in four of all students, are now supported in this programme.

Le Chéile National School, serving the children of the Galvone and Southill area of Limerick, has been categorised under urban band 1 within the DEIS programme. Urban band 1 schools receive the most comprehensive support under the DEIS programme in recognition of having the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage. The literacy and numeracy supports within the DEIS programme are integral to its aim of reducing educational disadvantage. As an urban 1 school, it has priority access to reading recovery, maths recovery, first steps and ready, set, go maths. Moreover, the school has access to the home school community liaison services and the school completion programme, which share the same national outcomes of improved attendance, improved participation and improved retention.

Le Chéile National School receives additional time allocation from the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, and a psychologist is assigned to the school. It has also benefited from a range of universal supports across both DEIS and non-DEIS schools aimed at fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Le Chéile National School, alongside all primary schools in Ireland, is part of the free primary schoolbooks scheme. This initiative has significantly relieved families of the costs of purchasing schoolbooks, including workbooks and copybooks. Schools have the flexibility to extend the benefits of this scheme to cover some classroom resources as well, thereby enhancing the learning environment for all pupils.

On special education, additional support is available through the special education teaching allocation for primary schools, which provides a single unified allocation for SEN teaching needs to schools based on each school’s educational profile and it also encompasses the English as an additional language support. In response to fluctuations in enrolments, the Department has supplemented this with temporary special education and additional language support.

Budget 2024 represents a significant step forward in our journey towards an inclusive, high-quality education system. Among other measures, the Minister, Deputy Foley, has allocated €5 million for additional educational welfare officer posts and supports for the alternative education assessment and registration service. This funding will enhance our capacity to support the most educationally disadvantaged children to ensure every child has access to quality education, regardless of their background.

Regarding Le Chéile National School, I am aware the Deputy's request is not specifically around education, but there are eight special education teachers in that school and nine SNAs as well.

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