Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is the point, and I have not heard from the Minister of State that they will be. The question was about what additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated on the back of that new process. The Minister of State did not answer that question. In fact, he spelled out what we knew already, which is what the Department is planning. How does what the Department is planning match with, or not match with, what the actual demand is?

We have repeatedly heard from all quarters a real frustration as to how the Department, its agencies and the Government do so poorly at planning despite the fact that we have CSO data, AIM data, reports on children and now the new NCSE forms. Where stands the demand at this stage? How does it relate to the Department's planned roll-out of capacity?

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