Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question, and I look forward to working with everybody in this role for the betterment of all because there are, as always, huge challenges in education, which is the bedrock of our society.

The Government is fully committed to children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver this objective. Up to an additional 2,700 specialist places, made up of 400 new special classes for an average of six children each and 300 special school places, will be provided for the coming year. The NCSE has already sanctioned in excess of 209 new school classes and is engaging intensively with schools and school patron bodies to confirm additional special classes as soon as possible. On top of this, there will be well more than 1,000 places available through the normal annual movement of students progressing and graduating out of schools. There also remain special classes with vacant places in some areas of the country.

Supporting the increase in provision are an additional 768 special education teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants. This means we will have more than 44,000 professionals in our education system dedicated to supporting children with special educational needs. A range of new measures to support the forward planning of special education provision was set out in Circular 0080/2024. These include new measures to address a challenge raised by the NCSE with regard to not knowing about some of the children seeking specialised placement in recent years. Parents of children with special educational needs seeking a specialised placement are now required to engage with the NCSE, so that all children who require a place for September can be supported to secure one in a timely manner. It is hugely important that we make sure those places are available in a timely manner.

See this speech in context