Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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This June, a school in my parish, Ballyfad National School, will sadly be closing its doors, as the current sixth class student will move on to second level and the remaining student has secured a place in another school for sixth class next September. The Diocese of Ferns notified the Department of Education about the impending closure of Ballyfad school in recent weeks. It is a school in a beautiful setting overlooking Ballyfad Wood, a natural woodland, and the north Wexford and south Wicklow coastline. It has a high-speed broadband hub and community centre next door.

Like any rural school closure, it is a sad event for a building that has served the local community for 74 years since it replaced the old school on this site in 1950. As the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, knows, a rural school is the heartbeat of a local community. This school has so much history. It even produced a local GAA all-star. However, every cloud has a silver lining. There is huge community and political support on both sides of the Wexford-Wicklow border for this lovely building to be repurposed as a school for those with special or additional needs. The physical building is there and is very good. There is most certainly demand in this area, which is close to the Wexford-Wicklow border, between Arklow and Gorey, two very large towns. All we need now is for the Minister of State's Department to please look at this proposal and hopefully implement it.

I was a special education teacher and taught in Gaelscoil Moshíológ in Gorey. We recently gave a full school wing to allow the Department to establish Gorey Hill special school. The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, officially opened it just weeks ago. It has just 24 pupils. It is an excellent school. It will only be taking in six more pupils in September. Many primary schools in north Wexford and south Wicklow have early intervention units, which are basically preschool units for those with special needs. There is substantial demand for special school places in north Wexford and south Wicklow that Gorey Hill School would not have the capacity to cater for. As the Minister of State knows, last week, parents slept outside Leinster House, desperately demanding spaces for their children. As we all know, there has been a failure of successive governments to invest in special education, which has left many children with special needs without places that they urgently require.

I followed the debate last night and listened attentively to the Minister, Deputy McEntee. She outlined plans for the opening of quite a lot of new special schools. I ask the Minister of State, respectfully, if he would consider repurposing the Ballyfad National School building as a school for children with special or additional needs.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his Topical Issue. I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for me and the entire Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that all necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. Of the 400 special class places provided for in budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that more than 390 have already been sanctioned for the 2025-26 school year. Eleven are in Wicklow and 12 in Wexford. They will be added to the 3,330 classes already in operation across the country. There continues to be an increased need to provide additional special school places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, 11 new special schools have been established in recent years and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. As the Deputy referred to, Gorey Hill School is one of those established in recent years. We welcome that development. Five more special schools will be established in the 2025-26 school year: one in Cork, two in Dublin, one in Monaghan and one in Tipperary. The new special schools established over recent years have focused on providing additional places in our larger urban areas, in Cork and Dublin in particular. The Department and the NCSE have begun planning in relation to further expanding special school capacity for the 2026-27 school year. It is estimated that a further 300 new special school places may be required each year for the coming years.

When it is looking to provide additional capacity, the Department's preferred option is to increase provision in existing special schools if possible. Where this is not possible in a region, the Department and the NCSE will consider the need to establish a new special school. Where existing capital owned by the Department can be repurposed, it makes sense from a time, economic and environmental sense to do so. However, each building is evaluated on its individual merits for its suitability. Of particular relevance is the development of an inclusive environment that promotes the integration of children with special education needs with their mainstream peers to the greatest extent possible. In that context, campus solutions for new special schools are prioritised. In planning for increased special school places, the Department and the NCSE are reviewing all of the available data on the growing need for special school places across the country. This involves a detailed analysis of enrolment trends and the potential for existing special schools in a region to expand. Part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansions are required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education appropriate to their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information the NCSE holds at local level on the number of children seeking a special school place in the region. The Department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special school placements remain available for children with special educational needs and will continue to review and monitor the situation in County Wexford and nationwide as to where new special schools are required.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his acknowledgment of common sense in repurposing existing buildings. From an economic and environmental point of view, it makes sense. I also welcome his comments in relation to Gorey Hill School and the establishment of special classes in Wexford and Wicklow. As he pointed out in his remarks, five more schools will be built in other counties. Will the Department look at the Ballyfad National School building? There are early intervention units in a number of local areas. Those children will need places to go. There is one in Barndarrig and another in St. Michael and St. Peter's Junior School in Arklow. Ballyellis National School has two early intervention units. Just 2 km down the road from this building, Coolgreany national school has two early intervention units. People ask where these children will go. It makes sense that they should just go up the road to a repurposed special school nearby when the building is already there. St. Catherine's Special School in County Wicklow will have seven places for September. However, there are 72 children on the list seeking a place in this school. There are six places across the border in Gorey Hill School. However, the figure could be way over 66 and much more. Demand is there and so is the building. I ask the Government to adopt a common-sense approach. It makes perfect economic and environmental sense for the Department to repurpose these schools as special education centres.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy again for raising the question and giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department of Education continues to engage intensively with the National Council for Special Education in relation to forward planning for new special provision for the 2025-26 school year and future years to ensure every child has a place in an educational setting best fitting their educational needs. There are now more than 28,000 children being supported in special schools and classes with the number of special classes increasing by 100% since 2020, only five years ago. There has been huge investment by this Government and the previous Government in special education.

It is a statutory responsibility of the National Council for Special Education to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision each year. As already outlined, budget 2025 provides funding for 400 new special classes and up to 300 additional special school places for the 2025-26 school year. This new provision is announced as the locations are confirmed. The Department and the NCSE are then looking to the 2026-27 school year and will continue to monitor the need for additional school place provision based on demand.