Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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111. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to ensure there are multi-disciplinary teams in all schools, including the recruitment and retention of therapists. [14637/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I congratulate the Minister on her post. I have not yet had an opportunity to say that to her across the floor.

What are her Department's plans to ensure all students, especially children with additional needs, have access to in-school supports such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and psychological services? What is the plan to roll them out, for recruitment and resourcing schools throughout the country?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, it is the Government’s ambition to make sure therapies are provided in schools. This was committed to in the programme for Government and it is to build on the work being done through the Department of Education, with a number of teams already in place within our schools through the education therapy support service, ETSS, working in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. At the moment, 39 therapists are working in schools to build the capacity of teachers and other school staff, as well as working with students and children. The ambition now is to make sure we can roll out a programme across the board, starting with special schools but the ambition is very much to move to special education classrooms as well. This will be done through the NCSE. It will be the employer and, most important, children will receive direct therapies and supports in schools, including from occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, and a whole community response will be taken. It will not just be direct supports for young children. Teachers will be provided with the training, resources and supports they need, parents will be included in this and there will be a whole-of-school approach.

Work has started on this. We have held a number of Cabinet committees where the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and I have met and engaged with the Departments of children, disability and health as well as the Department of further and higher education to make sure we are able to provide the therapists while at the same time complementing the work of the child and disability network teams, CDNTs, and the other therapists in the system providing support to everyone else. We need to increase the places. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, is working closely with the Minister for Health to make sure we can double the number of therapist places in our universities. That is a clear commitment we gave in the programme for Government. The work is under way to make sure we have that steady flow and capacity within the therapy professions overall. This is an absolute priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, me, the Department and the Government.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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It is great that it will be rolled out. I am anxious to know exactly how far along the implementation of those places is, particularly at third level, for the autumn intake under the Central Admissions Office, CAO. I note from the programme for Government that a plan was set out to double the number of college places for speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists. How far along is that?

With regard to expediting qualification routes for professionals who have relevant experience and skills, how will that work? Many people are working in the education system and broadly around it and I am wondering how that will work. I am interested to see how far along those plans are.

Over recent weeks, the Minister has been meeting many parents, like every TD in the Dáil, about the lack of special education school places. She is trying to rectify that, but with that come all the other supports that need to happen.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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There is absolute logic for school-based therapies. That is where the need is. It is about providing the service and assessment where the need is. I am aware the Minister has had engagement with the parents of Senan Maguire. That child is out of school at the moment. We need to ensure there is a solution for primary school-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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------and also a solution for secondary school.

I will also bring up the issue of Tallanstown National School, which is facing the fact-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Please.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Very briefly, the school could be dealing with one class that might have 37 children, including one with Down's syndrome, next year because it will lose-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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An tAire.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I would like to jump in. I would like to register that people from big parties who have loads of opportunities to ask questions have been jumping in all night on these questions, meaning that people from the smaller groups get pushed down even further. It is a little inconsiderate of those parties, including Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and all of them, when there are so many questions on the agenda.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Deputy has made her point. I thank her.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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My question will not be taken now because of that.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am sorry it will not be reached. I only came in halfway through.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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While I cannot give the Deputy a timeline for the doubling of places, I know it is being worked on directly by the Ministers, Deputies Lawless and Carroll MacNeill. The more quickly it can happen, the more quickly we can fill our places overall.

The change on qualifications is work that has just started, so the focus and priority have been on outlining what the therapy service will look like and how we can progress it as soon as possible. The Deputy is correct that we can provide school places for young people, but we need to make sure that when they get into school, they get access to the right supports and education. That should include therapies and they should get direct support in the schools as well as in their communities. This is about complementing the work being done outside the school as well.

Deputy Ó Murchú raised Senan. I have spoken to David and Tina. The Deputy is correct that the number one priority is making sure that Senan has a school place immediately and then making sure he has access to the right school place, supports and therapies he needs. I will do absolutely everything possible to make sure that is the case.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister. Going further than that, it is great to see there will be a roll-out of these services and supports to young people and children in special schools. From looking at it, what we would like to see from an education perspective is that young people who need a service in mainstream schools will be able to access it. There are children throughout the country who need that support. School is a fantastic place to have that support and I would like speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and other psychological services to be available in all our schools. We will be a fully functioning society when we have that available to all the students in our schools, at primary and secondary levels and in special education schools, like in other countries that have high functioning education systems and social, emotional and psychological supports for students.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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This is about building capacity and the thing that has come to me most in recent weeks, when engaging with parents and children about what they want, is that they want the place that is most appropriate for them, although that can be different for every young person and student. It might be a special school, a special classroom in a mainstream school or a mainstream place with additional supports. In rolling out the therapies, while we have given a commitment to starting with special schools because that is where the need is most acute, my priority and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is to make sure that it is not just in special schools but is extended to children who are in special education classrooms. If we can make progress and build capacity, we will have supports available to every child who needs them. That is about making sure the structure works, that we get it up and running as quickly as possible and that it complements a lot of the positive work that is happening. We all acknowledge we can do more and that we can do better, and that is what we are trying to achieve here. There is an absolute commitment by the Government to making sure we provide these therapies in our schools and that those who need them most get them.