David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I raise a very serious issue, one I would call a crisis, in regard to special educational needs for primary school children in Waterford city and county. Somewhere between 40 and 50 children are still unsure whether they will have a place come September. I have engaged on this, as has Deputy McGuinness, with dozens of parents of children with disabilities who cannot access a place for their child. Some of them have contacted between 15 and 17 schools and got refusal after refusal. It is heartbreaking for the parents.

I have written to and met as many primary school principals as I possibly could in recent weeks. Surprisingly for me, many of them told me they want to provide and can provide classes but that there is either no space, they do not have the modular units or they do not have the staff to provide the classes. In some instances, in particular in County Waterford, but also, arguably, in Waterford city, there may be a need for a new special school. While that is something that is needed for the medium to long term, it is unacceptable we have such a volume of young children who deserve to enjoy the same education rights as anybody else, whose parents are doing everything possible - trying to move heaven and earth - to get their children the education they need, but it seems the Department and the Government cannot deliver.

I met with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the local special educational needs organiser, SENO. They tell me they have engaged with schools as well but that funding is required to provide the space, the modular units or the teachers that are needed to provide the extra classes.

What is the Government going to do about it? Why is it such a problem in Waterford? What initiatives will the Minister of State take to deal with what is a very real crisis for those children and their families?

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The shortage of special education spaces across Waterford city and county did not happen overnight but it has now reached crisis level. As I have outlined in correspondence to the Minister and the Minister of State, and by way of parliamentary questions when that resulted in no response, there is an alarming situation in Dungarvan where 20 children have been told there will be no space for them in St. John's Special School this September. Given the limited spaces and high demand, the school was forced to pick names at random through a lottery and to create a waiting list. No school, principal or team should be put in that position. The families of these children have been left reeling and uncertain as to how, where and if their children's right to education will be vindicated.

St. John's Special School, Dungarvan, is a fantastic school and is utterly embedded in the community. It caters to children with mild, moderate and severe levels of need. Its catchment area does not just include Waterford but also parts of east Cork and south Tipperary. This is on top of the more general constraints on special class spaces to which Deputy Cullinane referenced within mainstream schools across Waterford. While a special class in a mainstream school will suit some children and others will thrive in a mainstream class with the right support, some children need a special school setting. The 20 children impacted in west Waterford need a special school space.

Deputy Cullinane and I have been engaging with parents, the NCSE, SENOs and school principals to push for a resolution to the crisis across Waterford city and county. Projects in Ballycurrane National School and Garranbane National School have been delayed, further adding to pressure, while bureaucracy and capacity constraints are frustrating efforts in more schools across Waterford, both at primary and secondary level. There is an urgent need for additional capacity in St. John's Special School, Dungarvan. While temporary accommodation might be a solution for September, ultimately there needs to be an expansive and ambitious project to deliver a new extended school campus in Dungarvan. For now, however, parents need certainty. Their children deserve an education, not just a place to be but a place where in the words of one parent, they can thrive and achieve their full potential, whatever that might look like.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for raising the issue. At the outset, I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for me and the Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. Importantly, for myself as the Minister of State responsible, I want to try to ensure that the lead-in times for planning and making spaces available is as efficient as possible in order that stress on parents can be reduced as much as possible. Parents need to have the certainty they need for where their children will be going to school. That is crucially important.

The spend on special education is at an all-time high, with more than a quarter of the education budget allocated to special education. Since 2020, almost 1,700 new special classes have been provided, bringing the total to more than 3,330. Of the 400 new special classes sanctioned for the 2024-25 school year, 12 are in County Waterford, seven at primary level and five at post-primary level. This brings the total number of special classes in Waterford to 70, 44 at primary level and 26 at post-primary level. In addition, there are three special schools in the county. All three have expanded provision in the last number of years to accommodate more children, with St. John’s Special School and St. Martin's Special School availing of building projects in recent years. St. Martin’s currently has a project for an additional four special education classrooms, a quiet space and ancillary accommodations.

At a local level in County Waterford and indeed nationwide, the NCSE is examining which special schools have capacity to expand and is targeting medium and larger primary schools with no special class, or just one special class, to open a new special class. As schools begin to enrol students and as places become available, the NCSE will advise and support parents to ensure all children have a suitable placement for September. It is important for planning purposes that parents engage with the NCSE when seeking a special educational placement for their children.

The Deputies will know the contact details of local SENOs and I also know that parents have reached out to the public representatives in the area as well.

The need for additional special school capacity across County Waterford and the adjoining regions will be kept under review by the NCSE and the Department of Education. Specifically, in relation to St John’s Special School, Dungarvan, the NCSE is engaging directly with the school regarding the needs of the children in the local area. I assure the Deputies that both I and the Department have sought and are awaiting an update on this in terms of any potential need for additional accommodation. I am assured that the NCSE also hopes to be able to confirm additional special classes in the area over the coming weeks. In relation to new special class provision at primary level across the county more broadly, the NCSE is engaging with schools and school patron bodies to confirm new special classes to open for the coming school year. There should be progress on confirming these new special classes shortly.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I have to take issue with some of what the Minister of State has said in his response because it is insulting to the parents of those children. He stated, "As schools begin to enrol students and as places become available, the NCSE will advise and support parents to ensure all children have a suitable placement for September." That is not happening and there will not be places for all children because they do not exist. That is the problem. They do not exist. The NCSE accepts that. The SENOs who work in the area accept that. The schools will tell the Minister of State themselves that this is the reality. The Minister of State then said that it is important for planning purposes that parents engage with the NCSE. They are engaging with the NCSE. They have been given lists. The lists are updated all of the time. They contact the schools that are on the lists. I gave the Minister of State examples of parents contacting 16 or 17 different schools. They go through the list contacting every school, suffering heartbreak after heartbreak and being told, "I am sorry but there are no places." The Minister of State needs to wake up and smell the coffee in this regard. There is a real crisis of capacity. Unless the capacity is put in you cannot say to all children that their places will be there for them in September.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State has stated the need for additional school spaces and capacity in County Waterford will be kept under review but September is coming quickly for these families. There is no certainty and they have no information. The Minister of State has stated they should contact the SENOs and the NCSE. They are blue in the face from doing that. They have them on speed dial. There could not possibly be more engagement but what they need are answers and certainty. I implore the Minister of State on behalf of these families for the Department of Education and the Minister of State to take every resource they have available to ensure there are spaces for these children because, as Deputy Cullinane said, there will be children left without a space. The only option for those children if a space is not created for them is to sit at the kitchen table at home or to go without an education. It is not fair in 2025 in a modern country like ours for a child to forgo their right to an education, not just an education where they sit and wait but an education where they can thrive and fulfil their potential as human beings.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies. I agree wholeheartedly with what the Deputies have said. I fully understand the challenges that are being faced in Waterford and across the country in relation to school places. It is an issue that behoves all of us. In my role and the responsibility that I have, I intend to use everything at my disposal to ensure places are made available. I know and I understand fully, as a public representative and indeed with the lived experience, the challenges that are being faced across the country, and particularly the challenges the Deputies have raised in Waterford. In one of the remarks I made in my contributions, I said that we are waiting and that the Department and the NCSE are working. I am assured that the NCSE is hoping to be able to confirm additional special classes in the area in the coming weeks. I will work as hard as I can with the resources that are available through the NCSE and through the Department. We will try together. This is an issue that concerns all public representatives. We have met parents and we know the challenges that are being faced, with many cases of complex needs. We will, however, work as hard as we can to try to find solutions for the parents of children in Waterford and throughout the country.