Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for debate. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. I also acknowledge the excellent work done by the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, in the area of special education and inclusion. It is a very important that the Government has established this area within the Department. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, for her recent visits to County Mayo and for her engagement with key stakeholders in the area of special education and inclusion.

The issue I am raising is a serious one that is causing much distress to pupils, parents, teachers and school principals in Castlebar. There is a shortage of places to enrol children in special schools. In recent weeks, I have received numerous representations from special education schools to the effect that are facing real challenges as we enter the final school term before the summer break, with preparations now being made for enrolments for the 2023-24 academic year.

The first problem is the lack of forecasting of future enrolments at local level by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. While I support and welcome the appointment of the new NCSE director, the issue of forecasting has manifested as a serious problem. The lack of forecasting relating to placements for children by the NCSE means that schools are being left to resolve problems themselves, which is completely unacceptable. The Department's geographical information management system includes real-time data on capacity throughout the school system. It is the NCSE that should be managing this.

In recent weeks, one special education school in Castlebar had 15 inquiries for enrolment next September. The principal has informed me that the majority, if not all, of these queries have been made by parents whose children in all likelihood fit the moderate to severe general learning disabilities for which the school caters. All of these queries have been made directly to the school by parents since February. This is complete madness and parents should not be engaging directly. This is the job of the NCSE and the special education needs organisers. They should be co-ordinating this forecasting exercise to ensure we have a coherent and comprehensive overview of special class enrolment.

I have spoken to the principal of St. Brid's Special National School in Castlebar. It is in a desperate situation to ensure it has capacity in the system to accommodate pupils. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has visited the school and knows the conditions in which the staff are working. Unless it is offered additional accommodation, which is not forthcoming, the school will not be in a position to offer even one of these 15 children a place. This is outrageous.

Another special school, St. Anthony's School, has been allocated an additional teacher by the NCSE to cater for the needs of the pupils in the school at present. The NCSE has confirmed that this teacher will continue to be needed in September to allow the school to enrol children with special needs who have applied for school places for the 2023-24 academic year. It has run out of classroom space to accommodate the extra teacher. The school is interviewing prospective teachers for the post, but it has been left without a classroom. We need to escalate dealing with this issue, particularly with regard to Castlebar in County Mayo, to ensure that these pupils are not left behind. We are all aware of them. They are part of the children's disability network teams. The have already been assessed for special needs. I ask for a focus on these two schools in particular and that we get a resolution to the problems.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Dillon for raising this issue. He is dead right to do so. I agree with enabling pupils with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs. This is an ongoing priority for the Government. Another priority for the Government is to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater for the needs of children with special educational needs. This year, the Department will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or more than 27% of the budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs, and rightly so. In 2022, funding was provided for an additional 980 teachers and 1,165 special needs assistants.

For 2023, the Department has further increased the number of teaching and special needs assistant, SNA, posts in our schools. There will be an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs in our schools next year as a result.

Budget 2023 also provided funding for additional staffing in the NCSE and the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. This will ensure that our schools and students benefit from additional practical supports from special educational needs organisers, SENOs, NCSE advisers and educational psychologists.

The NCSE has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. The Department has engaged intensely with it in the context of forward planning for new special classes and special school places for the 2023-24 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data relating to forecasting demand for special class places, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements, consideration of available school accommodation and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

As Deputy Dillon will be aware, on 12 April, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, provided an update on the progress being made in respect of meeting the needs of children with special educational needs for the coming school year. Two new special schools are being established in the next school year, one in Carrigtwohill in east Cork and one in the Dublin 7 area, with further capacity being expanded and 11 other special schools. This will bring to seven the number of new special schools established in recent years. The NCSE has also sanctioned 218 new special classes nationwide at primary and post-primary level for the coming school year. Of those, six are located in County Mayo - three at primary level and three at post-primary level. These new classes will bring the total number of special classes in County Mayo to 62, which is 43 at primary level and 19 post-primary level. Additional special classes will be sanctioned in the coming weeks.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is filling for the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. The reality for St. Brid's Special School and St. Anthony's School is that there is no alternative placement for many of these children in Castlebar. It is a scary thought that up to 14 or 15 extremely vulnerable children could be left without secure school placements for the 2023-2024 school year.

Recently, the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, said that the planning and resourcing of special education needs to catch up with the forecasting after a report by his office highlighted the serious shortcomings throughout the country. This is evident in what I am presenting this morning. One figure of concern that Dr. Muldoon discussed is the number of children with special educational need who are in the wrong placements, such as those in special classes who need to be in special schools or children who are in mainstream classes but who need to be in special classes. Some parents may simply have taken what was offered rather than what was needed.

The Minister of State referred to funding. I welcome the Department's commitment to 25% of the total budget being spent on special education but I believe we need to act a lot more swiftly with regard to the actual placements. St. Brid's cannot wait any longer for this additional accommodation. It needs to be sanctioned with speed. I am aware that the Department of Education's building and planning unit has engaged with the principal, but September is just around the corner. For the good of St. Brid's and St. Anthony's, I ask the Minister of State to revert to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the Department officials to get a commitment that this additional accommodation will be sanctioned. We need to provide these specialist supports and services for students and ensure that we have effective solutions. These should be implemented with speed and efficiency. This accommodation is crucially important to ensure that these children have a bright future, that their parents are supported and that they have adequate education provision into the years ahead.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is absolutely correct to raise these issues. Every child has a constitutional right to primary education and to the right to education in a public setting. The Department is working very hard to make sure that is the case. The Deputy is absolutely right to raise these issues. I will certainly bring them back directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, who could not be here this morning, and the Minister. There are huge resources being provided.

There is a change in how these things are forecast, but that is always a very difficult task. I have outlined already that it is intended that further special classes will be sanctioned in the next few weeks. The Department and the NCSE have undertaken a number of new strategic initiatives to provide sufficient class spaces in primary and post-primary schools. This has happened as a result of collaboration and co-operation of schools, school leaders, boards, patrons and trustees. The provision of new special classes can make the difference and can be the difference between children with special educational needs accessing education, which allows them to reach their full potential, or otherwise remaining in settings unsuited to their needs. I agree with the Deputy that this is not the way things should be. As part of the budget, there are additional staff in all areas of this sector to ensure that people's special educational needs are met.

I hope I have provided some insight into the work that is going on. I look forward to the announcements in the coming weeks. I have no doubt that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the officials will engage further with the planning and building unit, and will be in touch with the school as part of their ongoing engagement. They will certainly bear in mind everything the Deputy has said here today, about which nobody could argue.