Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Heath, Deputy Butler, to respond to my query in respect of what I perceive to be the lack of special school places, and school places for children with additional needs in the north Cork area specifically. I raise this issue on the basis of the fact that parents have been in contact with me to say there is no certainty for their children in the north Cork area. I refer to the Mitchelstown and Fermoy areas specifically. While there is a willingness on the part of schools to accept children, the capacity is not there and some schools have told me that were the capital investment made to facilitate it, they would gladly take on additional students. Similarly, I find that I am increasingly being contacted by parents regarding access to special schools for children with intellectual disabilities specifically, where more people in north Cork have to go to Cork city to access education. It is a lot to ask parents from north Cork to send their children to some place like, for instance, Rochestown, and have to go through the Jack Lynch tunnel on a daily basis.

Could the possibility of a capital allocation for a site-specific special school for north Cork be considered? Allied to that, perhaps there could be a review or deeper look whereby the Department of Education might review the current allocation of places in autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units in the north Cork area to see if increased capacity could be created for children where there is a demand.

While I have a little time, I will raise an issue regarding the allocation of places. I am sure the Minister of State will tell me the National Council for Special Education, NCSE has responsibility for this area. I recognise that and that the special education and needs organisations, SENOs, are active on the ground, liaising with principals and looking at demand. I know that and respect that fact. However, in Cork, as I understand it, there are only seven SENOs and there are vacant posts there as well. That is having a knock-on relationship regarding that relationship with the SENO. Fewer SENOs must now cover more ground and that is having a bearing and impact on the ability of services to be rolled out. That needs to be addressed. If there are vacancies there, those vacant posts need to be filled and we need to ensure that greater capital expenditure is provided for more places in ASD units. In essence, this is what I am asking for, as well as consideration being given to the prospect of a special school specifically for the north Cork area. This would be in addition to the one in Charleville, where the waiting lists, as we know, are quite long.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who sends her apologies. I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to outline how the Department of Education and the NCSE continue to provide special education placements for children who need them.

At the outset, I stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for this Government, as I acknowledge it is for the Deputy too. Another priority for this 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 children with special educational needs. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. To support children with more complex needs, special classes in mainstream schools and special schools are provided.

This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or over 27% of the Department’s budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. 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 special needs assistants in our schools by the end of this calendar year. For the first time ever, we will have more than 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 special needs assistants.

Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs. The children will undoubtedly benefit, as is right and proper, from the additional focus these resources will bring to their education.

The National Council for Special Education has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on education provision for children nationwide. Over the past three years, the Department of Education and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit with more than 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the last three years. Just recently, on 12 April, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced the establishment of two new special schools as part of a comprehensive update on enhanced education provision for students with special educational needs. These two new special schools will be established in Carrigtwohill, in east Cork and in Dublin 7 for the 2023-24 school year. The Deputy spoke about the Mitchelstown and Fermoy area and the challenges of going to Rochestown and going through the tunnel, so hopefully having a special school in Carrigtwohill will make a significant difference to families.

Along with the two new special schools, 328 new special classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening in the coming school year, with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks. There will be 217 special classes at primary level and 111 at post-primary level. Also, capacity will be expanded in 11 other special schools around the country. There are currently 421 special classes in County Cork. Of these, 300 special classes are at primary level and 121 are at post-primary level. Of the 328 new special classes announced for the new school year, 71 are in County Cork, with 53 at primary level and 18 at post-primary level. It is estimated that 15 of these new classes sanctioned for the coming school year will be in the north Cork region, with 11 at primary level and four at post-primary level. Hopefully that will go a long way to supporting families with children with special and additional needs.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response because it is the first time we have a real metric and set of figures in respect of north Cork, which is to be welcomed. I appreciate and acknowledge that a new special school will be allocated for Carrigtwohill. I am not striving for perfection here but I have a slight worry. We seem to accept the fact that children have to travel long distances to get to school of a morning when they are trying to access a special school. I reiterate my call for consideration to be given to north Cork specifically because the demand for places in Charleville is unsustainable and we cannot continue to heap more pressure on Charleville. If you have students who would ordinarily go to Charleville now having to go to some place like Carrigtwohill or Cork, it is still not ideal. Again, I am not looking for perfection but we are looking for better provision if we can have it.

I appreciate the fact that 15 of the new classes sanctioned for the coming year will be in the north Cork region. We will see how that works through and I will continue to liaise with parents. I am hopeful that if parents continue to contact me about the lack of school places coming up to the summer break and if there continues to be uncertainty about school places for September, then we will know that those numbers are not working. I appreciate the Minister of State's reply and I accept that there is action on the part of the Government and the Department to sanction more places. That has to be acknowledged and we will see how that works out.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy that the Minister for Education’s response was comprehensive, which is welcome. As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the coming years due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, the Department of Education and the NCSE are engaging with post-primary stakeholders on the provision of special classes. In October 2022, the Department wrote to all post-primary schools to advise them of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. Essentially all post-primary schools can expect to open special classes over the next three to five years. That is welcome because when the special classes started across every constituency they were in primary schools and then when students get to sixth class they have to move on. This will ensure that children can access a special class in their local post-primary school, rather than having to travel a significant distance to another school.

At local level the NCSE is continuing to engage with schools on the establishment of additional special classes for the next school year. Every support will be made available to schools to progress the opening of special classes in the shortest possible time frame. The Department continues to engage intensely with the NCSE on the forward planning for new special classes, which is really positive. I know the Cork area well, including Mitchelstown and Fermoy. I know Cork is a big county and it is difficult for families when they have to travel. I think of my constituency of Waterford which has three special schools, two in the city and one in Dungarvan, and that is the norm although it is hard. I will bring the Deputy's comments back to the Minister and I am cognisant of how big a county Cork is. Travel for a child with additional and complex needs is not always easy.