Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to ensure that no child is left without an appropriate school place. [16257/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister outline her plans to ensure that no child is left without an appropriate school place for the coming September?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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It is an absolute priority of the Department and of mine to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place that is appropriate to their needs. We are continually investing in existing and new schools to ensure that this is the case. Testament to this is that almost 400 new classes for children with special education were established in the 2023-24 school year and school building projects completed in 2023 delivered more than 7,000 additional mainstream post-primary school places.

Since 2020, the Department has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of more than 800 school building projects. Construction is under way at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 31 new school buildings. These 300 projects at construction stage involve a total State investment of more than €1.2 billion. A variety of capital investments are at a variety of stages. They are swiftly moving forward so that year-on-year €1.2 billion to €1.4 billion has been expended.

There are more than 1 million learners in 4,000 primary and post-primary schools around the country. Growth in overall post-primary enrolments is projected to continue in many parts of the country. However, first year enrolments nationally are expected to have peaked in the current school year and will begin to decline. Nevertheless, due to strong residential construction and planning activity, we can expect to see increasing demand in particular towns and areas. This is fully factored into the Department's forward planning approach, which includes extensive engagement with local authorities in this regard.

In the area of special education, the National Council for Special Education has forecast continued significant growth in the requirement for special classes at post-primary level. The Department is working towards the provision of an average of four special classes in every post-primary school. While there can be enrolment pressures in some areas, it is important to note that sometimes this may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by a variety of other factors, as I discussed with Deputy Clarke earlier. In this respect, the Department continuously works directly with schools, management bodies and local authorities. Figures based on CSO data and all types of information feed into planning and building so we can properly forward plan.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Any parent with a child with special educational needs will say that when their child's need is met it comes as the result of a struggle, fight or battle of some degree. To date the Government has reacted to a series of crises rather than adequately planning out the future. Some very welcome changes were made in this regard but, despite the energy and effort at the time, we still see children with special educational needs who have not been offered a place for September. I have to question the effectiveness of the forward planning and the appropriateness of the data being used. When we look at the projected figures, the figures that come out are only as good as what has gone in. We need a much clearer line of information with regard to the Department, the principals, the building units and the delivery and, ultimately, appropriate places for all of these children. Without this, time and again we see children with special educational needs being put on reduced timetables. I would like to think that is only my experience but I have yet to see one of these children returned to a full timetable.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Clarke. Specifically with regard to special education we have seen unprecedented development. I concede it was coming from a low base. We now have more than 3,000 special classes in the system, two thirds of which were delivered under the Government in the past four years. We also have seven new special schools delivered by the Government and four additional special schools will open in September. An incredible emphasis is being placed on special education. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is newly into the area and I welcome her. I know she is fully committed to ensuring we progress this area.

The teacher allocation that goes into special education is a ratio of six students to one teacher and two SNAs. There is no question we are prepared to open additional classes. We are prepared to open new special schools where they are required. I absolutely accept it is very difficult at times for parents to navigate the system. For this reason we have invested an additional €13 million in the National Council for Special Education to provide additional SENOs who will work on a one-to-one basis with parents to navigate the system for them and make it that bit easier.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister. This is not just about navigating the system so that we do not have parents such as Sarah Dooley, about whom I have spoken to the Minister previously. She applied to 20 schools before her little boys were offered a place. This will mean a 90-minute round trip for those children to get to school in September. This is not inclusivity. They are literally excluded from their own community. The Department produced a document on projected enrolment which was recently updated. It specifically emphasised the estimate of enrolments of children with special educational needs as a percentage of total enrolments. It outlines that in 2023, to be confirmed, the figure for primary and post-primary is that 2.65% of children have special educational needs. This is estimated to increase to 4% by 2030. Specifically, one of the documents states the number of those who qualified under M1F2 in 2022 was 23,096 and that figure is expected to increase to 36,900 by 2030. What does the Minister plan to change on the figures she uses for assessment to ensure these 37,000 children will have a school place in 2030?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I want to be 100% clear. We are completely dedicated to ensuring that all children with additional needs will have the places that best meet their needs. It is my absolute vision that we will have a scenario in which children with additional needs can attend their nearest school. That is the objective. It is why 3,000 additional special educational classes are in place. As I have said previously, two thirds of them have been delivered by this Government. We will get to a point where a student attends their nearest school.

Part of my vision, and I am very clear about this, is that we will have a scenario whereby we will have a school campus with a mainstream school adjacent to a special school so there will be an opportunity to move over and back between the two. We are putting an enormous amount of effort and emphasis into ensuring we have appropriate provision. We provided 400 additional special classes in 2022-23. We will do likewise this year and the following year to ensure we will meet the needs of all of those who require either a special class or a place in a special school.