Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

I want to raise the issue of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, portal. The council has a new process in place to identify and ensure there is capacity for children who need special classes as part of their education. In moving to this new system, there has been a major gap in the process, which I am really worried about. Essentially parents were to upload the information and medical reports about their child's diagnosis into the Parent Notify portal on the NCSE website. Once that was assessed by the council, a letter of eligibility was given to the parents and the parents could use that to apply for a special class in the school. The NCSE closed that portal on 1 October. Many parents were not aware that this portal existed and what they needed to do to get the letter of eligibility. They did not have the final paperwork required because of how long it takes for assessments in this country. Unfortunately, the portal is now closed and those parents are absolutely unable to apply for a special class for their child.

I have repeatedly raised this with the Department and with the Minister. I keep being told not to worry and that the NCSE is going to manage this. The council is aware that for some children the parents did not have the information up in time and support will be given to them. However, that has not actually happened yet. The NCSE provided the following update:

Details of the process to be followed by parents and guardians who have not used Parents Notify to make contact with the NCSE when seeking a special class/school placement will be published on the NCSE website and social media accounts in the coming weeks.

That was seven weeks ago and there has been no update. I have been contacted by a number of parents in my constituency. This is a nationwide issue, and not just a Wicklow issue. It would appear that there's large-scale confusion over how those parents can be catered for. They are not hearing from their SENOs and there has not been any contact with the Department. Unfortunately, the guidance the NCSE sent out to all the schools states that a child who does not get into the first enrolments will go onto the waiting list. A child on a waiting list in any area where there are capacity issues is not getting a place.

Parents are really worried about this. Two things need to happen. There has to be immediate communication from the NCSE to parents in this regard. The SENOs need guidance. There seems to be a lot of confusion among the SENOs as to what is happening and that communication absolutely must happen. The Department or the NCSE must reopen that portal so that those parents who have received additional information can submit it. This issue has to be addressed. It cannot be the case that children who have additional needs are not being catered for or accounted for. This is not even for education this year; this is for September 2026. There seems to be a major gap in that process. I hope the Minister of State has an update from the Department for me on this. It is a huge worry for parents.

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