Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I refer to the issue of specific speech and language disorder, SSLD, classes and the eligibility criteria for same. The Circular 0038/2007 published by the Department of education set out the criteria for enrolment into specific speech and language disorder classes, which precluded access to this service for children who have an identified disability. Essentially, the children with speech sound disorders cannot be treated in mainstream classrooms due to the nature of the specialised support required. A parent representative group from the Galway branch of Down Syndrome Ireland initially highlighted this anomaly in the circular last May to the then Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte.

A working group was convened to undertake a review of this circular to remove any discriminatory elements. However, the revised circular, which was published in March 2025, Circular 0024/2025, also discriminates against children with a disability as it only permits access to children who have, "a speech sound disorder (SSD) of unknown origin." Therefore, children with a disability are still excluded. These discriminatory eligibility criteria are the cause of blatant discrimination against, and the exclusion of, young children with a disability in primary schools in Ireland for decades. This policy in the Department of education has denied children with a speech and language disorder equal access to supports in education, for example, speech specific and language disorder class placement based on the grounds of disability, since the publication of the circular in 2007. While the specific reference to IQ range and physical disability in the amended circular have been removed, a new discriminatory clause has been inserted.

The DSI Galway education subgroup sought international expert advice on the interpretation of this discriminatory clause, as well as advice from local senior speech and language therapists. Their advice is that this is further discrimination and exclusion against children with disabilities. This is in contravention of inclusion and fails to agree with the principles of the Equal Status Act 2000, the Equality Act 2004, the Education Act 1998, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, the Disability Act 2005 and, more recently, the UNCRPD.

While it is the HSE's responsibility to operationalise and implement the therapy in specific speech and language disorder classes, the fundamental problem in accessing these classes is the criteria set out in the Department of education's circular letter, that is, the exclusion of a child who has a speech sound disorder and a co-occurring disability, for example, a physical disability such as cleft lip and-or palate, or a specific syndrome such as Down's syndrome.

It is important to note that speech sound disorders can occur in a child with a disability and, likewise, they can occur in a child without a disability. Thus, a child's disability is not always the cause of their speech sound disorder. This barrier is being used by the HSE to prevent access by children who have a disability. Unfortunately, it is SLT managers in the primary care section of the HSE who decide whether or not a child is enrolled in these classes, although it is a Department of education policy. In some instances it is a discretionary decision made at HSE level. These classes must be accessible to all children regardless of disability. For children with literacy, learning, social participation and well-being needs, their educational provision and their special educational needs will be best met by the integrated and short-term provision offered through the specific speech and language disorder, SSLD, classes.

There are multiple examples of children with a speech sound disorder, and a disability who attended SSLD classes in the past, who made significant gains from attending these classes. As a result, the children are now able to verbally communicate. These children are capable and they are eager to learn. With the right support, they can thrive, and their voices, though not always heard, are just as important as any others in those circumstances.

While this issue has been highlighted by the Down Syndrome Galway education subgroup, this is a nationwide issue that has affected children all over the country for years. We have a Government that is advocating for inclusive education. In 2024 the NCSE published a paper, An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society. I am conscious of the time and I will comment further in due course.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I sincerely thank Deputy Dolan for raising this important matter and allowing me the opportunity to outline the changes on behalf of the Government and his party colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Michael Moynihan, that have been recently made to the enrolment criteria for specific speech and language disorder special classes.

There are 63 special classes for pupils with specific speech and language disorder attached to mainstream primary schools in dispersed geographical locations. These classes cater for pupils with a very specific set of language needs for a maximum of two years. The enrolment criteria for these classes originate from the recommendations of the special education review committee report, SERC, in 1993. As envisaged by SERC, the classes were designed to provide a time-limited, targeted intervention for children with severe impairments in their skills of understanding and expressing themselves through spoken language.

The inspectorate division of the Department published a composite report on the quality of provision for children attending these classes in 2021. While, overall, the inspectorate reported positively on this provision, significant issues were noted. These included: enrolment criteria for entry to the special SSLD classes used at the time did not align neatly with the current diagnostic definition of developmental language disorder, DLD, which has been used by speech and language therapists in Ireland and internationally since 2017. Some schools indicated that there were difficulties caused by the divergence between the DLD diagnostic criteria and the narrower SSLD definitions, as well as the requirement for psychological assessments to establish children's intellectual ability.

The inspectorate report noted that the disparity in definition between the DLD diagnostic and original SSLD enrolment criteria must be addressed as a matter of urgency to ensure that the pupils most in need of this specialised support will continue to be prioritised for enrolment. It will be equally important that pupils with lesser language needs, but who might fit into the broader DLD diagnostic category, are supported more appropriately throughout the educational system.

In September 2024, the Department undertook a review of Circular 0038/2007. This review has been completed and an updated circular, Circular 0024/2025, was published, as alluded to by the Deputy, on the 20 March 2025. This circular, Criteria for Enrolment in Special Classes for Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or Speech Sound Disorder (SSD), is available online.

The term SSLD will no longer apply to entry to these classes and will be replaced instead with developmental language disorder-speech sound disorder, DLD-SSD. This amendment will apply, in some cases, for the 2026-2027 school year, as the admission process had already been completed for 2025-2026. Schools were notified to that effect on the publication of the revised circular. The revised criteria see, among other changes, the removal of reference to IQ as one of the entry criteria for these classes.

In terms of co-morbidity, it is important to clarify that the criteria for access to the DLD-SSD class do not exclude children with any co-morbid conditions, such as Down's syndrome. The circular acknowledges that both the DLD and SSD of unknown origin diagnoses may have co-morbidities. A co-morbid condition is one that exists alongside another and is not causative. The Department acknowledges that there may be children for whom their SSD is of unknown origin but there are co-morbid conditions and there are others where the SSD results from a particular medical or biomedical diagnosis. The circular will be subject to review, and will involve the full range of education and health stakeholders. I will make it my business to ensure that Deputies who raise the issue in this House will also have the opportunity to feed into it.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the reply. It is also welcome that the IQ measure has been removed but, as I said, the Government has highlighted that bringing therapy back into special schools is a key priority. However, there is a cohort of children with disabilities and speech sound disorders in mainstream education who have a critical need for in-school speech therapy. In 2005, the Department's report noted that the eligibility criteria could not be widened at the time due to a shortage of supply of speech and language therapists. Here we are 20 years later and nothing has changed. The criteria have not been amended at Government level. It has taken the steadfastness, determination and advocacy of a small group of parents in east Galway to highlight this and to escalate it to Government level in order to enact it. The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists highlighted this issue several times before in position statements in 2007 and 2017 and it stated that, regardless of such concerns, the adoption of evidence-based criteria is urgently required and deemed the eligibility criteria for placement in a specific speech and language disorder class to be narrow and restrictive. It also stated that the current position, where the only intensive model of support available is restricted to children with non-verbal IQ at or higher than 90 points and significantly discrepant language scores denies appropriate support to many children with severe, pervasive and long-enduring needs.

Regarding the details in the revised circular that was issued in March of this year, I was informed that it was a senior speech and language therapist from the NCSE who mistakenly advised on the particulars that went into the new circular. We cannot stand over this discrimination any longer. I request the immediate removal of the discriminatory clause to ensure equality of access to these classes and that the NCSE reviews its recommendations to insert that clause. Furthermore, we must request the Department of education, the NCSE and the HSE to address the insufficient classes that are available throughout the country to meet demand and to cater for the significant number of children with speech and language disability.

I want to make an additional point before my time runs out. In one CDNT in my constituency, 20 children have been identified following assessment. There are in excess of 90 CDNTs nationwide. Therefore, if the law of averages applies, there could be at least 2,000 children who have a disability and a speech sound disorder who are being denied access to these therapeutic supports because of the idea that their speech and sound is of an unknown origin. I appreciate the Minister of State's support on the matter.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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As I outlined previously, the Department has reviewed the enrolment criteria and updated the circular. The updates to the circular were informed by robust engagement with the speech and language therapy service in the National Council for Special Education, the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists, and speech and language therapists in the HSE. It was a multifaceted process. There has also been ongoing engagement with school principals on enrolment into these classes for the coming school year.

In the medium term, the circular will be subject to review, typically one year after publication. This will involve the full range of education and health stakeholders, as I outlined. Issues identified in the implementation of the circular that require amendment will be made as necessary at that stage. However, the Deputy asked for something to happen a lot sooner than that. I am more than happy to pass that request on to the Minister. It should be possible to facilitate a meeting between the Deputy and the Minister.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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It is arranged.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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If it is arranged, then that is the next step. I am more than happy to put on pressure to ensure that it delivers a welcome outcome.