Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very serious issue. A number of ASD units were approved for three secondary schools in south Tipperary. Three principals and their staff, boards of management and parents of children with special needs were waiting for places and expected them to come on stream. In fact, the SENOs asked them to generate space and accommodation and all of the resources needed to deal with an extra class this year. However, they got shocking news from the Department a couple of days ago to the effect that the classes would not go ahead because the number of special classes in the national tally have been rolled out, which is a total of 399 classes. This is a shocking indictment. To think that some civil servant or some person in the NCSE has decided that we have met a target, the job is done and the box is ticked. This is a body blow to the parents, the children with additional and special needs and the principals of these schools. One of the schools affected is Coláiste Dún Íascaigh and I have permission from the principal to mention the name. The school has worked with the SENO and the Department and the needs are there. It has pupils with additional needs who are being catered for in mainstream classes. There was real energy and synergy from the whole body of the school to have extra room and an additional six pupils catered for. These people had the clear impression they were being enrolled and were thoroughly delighted, so arrangements were made. This is a body blow.

The Minister of State with responsibility for special education is not here. I am asking him to go back to the NCSE and literally instruct it to not renege on the commitment it made to these children - not to the building, board of management or principal, Mr. Peter Creedon in Cahir, but to the families and particularly to the children. Are we going to allow a situation to develop where, because we have reached a certain quota, it becomes a box-ticking exercise, the quota is met for this year - 399 special classes - and it is a case of "sorry, tough"? This is supposed to be about the person. Under the Constitution, every child is entitled to an equal education and every opportunity in life. To think that we could even send out that kind of bland email saying that we have met the quota so it is a case of tough, we are not going ahead with those three classes in those three schools in south Tipperary, is wrong. There are probably many more around the country. In this case, the groundwork has been done and ploughed and many arrangements have been made. The parents are exhausted from trying to get a place and were definitely very pleased to have the knowledge heading into the end of the school year that their children would have a place next year. It is just not acceptable that a bureaucratic system can make a cold bland statement saying that we have reached a quota. It is about people. We are talking about human beings. I believe the Minister of State is committed so he needs to go back to talk to the NCSE, see if that body is fit for purpose and get it to change its decision in this case.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for this Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure 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. There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school and special class places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, 16 new special schools have been established in recent years and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. As the Deputy is aware, five of these special schools have been established for the 2025-2026 school year in counties Cork, Dublin and Monaghan and in Nenagh in County Tipperary.

As the Deputy is aware, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, visited a number of schools in Tipperary in recent weeks, so he knows first-hand the wonderful work being done in schools in the county as well as the need to bolster provision. Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in budget 2025, 399 of these classes have been sanctioned for the 2025-2026 school year. These new classes have been confirmed earlier than previous years. A total of 17 of these are in County Tipperary, which will provide just over 100 new special class places. These will be added to the 3,335 classes already in operation in the country, of which 138 are in Tipperary. The NCSE is engaging with another school to open two more classes, which will bring the number of new classes to 401. For the coming school year, there will, therefore, be a total of 155 special classes across County Tipperary supporting more than 900 children. The location of these classes has been decided based on known local demand, and schools that have capacity to expand have been approached in the first instance to accommodate the classes.

The NCSE actively encourages expressions of interest from schools to open special classes, and the efforts taken by boards of management in expressing their interest are to be commended. However, it is not always possible to open a special class in every school that expresses an interest. When assessing the needs in the local area, the NCSE identifies schools in the neighbouring vicinity with available special class vacancies or capacity and assesses their capability with consideration to demographic and statistical data. At a local level in County Tipperary and nationwide, the NCSE examined which schools had capacity to expand and focused on medium and larger primary schools with available accommodation and no existing special class to open a new special class for the 2025-2026 school year. This consideration will continue to factor in planning for the 2026-2027 school year. This will ensure classes can open quickly as existing accommodation can be reconfigured in a more streamlined and efficient manner. It also ensures new provision is established in as many schools as possible. This not only provides parents more options when deciding which schools to apply to but ensures provision continues to grow in a diverse number of schools across regions.

As in other years, however, where schools have no available accommodation, especially at post-primary level, and there is known demand in a local area, the Department will continue to provide additional classroom accommodation to provide necessary places. I know that both the Minister and the Minister of State, in keeping with the commitment in the new programme for Government, will be working to secure further funding in the upcoming budget to provide further special class and special school places in 2026 in County Tipperary and throughout the country.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I appreciate it is not the Minister of State's reply - he is reading it out - but it is not about quotas, deadlines and systems like that. It is about ordinary children with needs. It is not fair on the schools that expected to open these schools to now have to wait to see if the decision will be reversed. By the Minister of State's account, I do not think it will be. We are approaching the end of the school term and principals have already been including the expected allocation in their numbers. One such school is Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, which was approached by the SENO to consider accepting an additional ASD satellite class. I commend the principal, Peter Creedon, and Ms Fiona Greene, who is the co-ordinator, on their work to ensure the needs of all students are met, but this is increasingly difficult. There are a number of students with a diagnosis of special educational needs in mainstream classes with no supports, and a number of children with complex needs do not have a place in the special class. Many principals like Peter Creedon have taken time to engage with the NCSE over recent months and have made plans for these new classes but have been told they cannot now proceed, not because of a lack need but because the Government has reached its target regardless of need. This is so cruel. We are talking about human beings. Schools across my constituency are affected by this. If they have to wait another year to open these classes, it will create an even greater backlog as there will be even more students driving the list next year and students will be taking up places in the school without the support they need. That is the important thing. This is a retrograde step. Do not get me wrong. It is hugely welcome that the Department has put in 399 new classes this year, but the demand exists for more and we need to provide those places, particularly where those commitments were made and those expectations were created.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I restate that in excess of 28,000 children are now being supported in special schools and classes. The number of special classes has increased by 100% since 2020. It is the statutory responsibility of the NCSE to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision each year. As I outlined, budget 2025 provides funding for 400 new special classes - up to 300 additional special school places. The NCSE has announced the location of 399 of these in April, which is much earlier so as to give information at an earlier period in the year. This has provided much-needed clarity to parents as a result. Any schools not sanctioned this year will remain as potential options for future years when demand requires classes to be established. The Department and the NCSE are looking to the 2026-2027 school year and will continue to monitor the need for additional special school provision based on demand. If the Deputy has any particular query about the specific school or children, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, will be more than happy to follow up directly with him as he is not here today.