Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— the right to education is a fundamental right for every child, as enshrined in the Irish Constitution and international conventions;

— despite two Dáil motions in 2025 calling for the provision of appropriate school places for every child with additional needs in their locality, the Government has rejected these calls;

— the Minister for Education has, to date, repeatedly declined to provide the exact number of children with additional needs still awaiting a school place for the 2025/2026 academic year, disaggregated by county and educational setting (primary/post-primary, special class/special school), despite a commitment to do so before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth;

— as of mid-June 2025, there were an estimated 260 children without any offer of an appropriate school place;

— the "Equality in Education" campaign has identified a further 168 children who have received an offer of a place but cannot take it up due to delays in essential building works, a situation which effectively denies them their education;

— numerous families have been forced to initiate legal proceedings to secure a basic school place for their child, a stressful and unnecessary course of action;

— these figures represent a significant undercount of the total number of children with additional needs without an appropriate school place, as they do not include:

— children with additional needs being home-schooled while awaiting an appropriate place;

— children undertaking excessively long and burdensome daily journeys to access education; and

— children placed in inappropriate settings (e.g., in mainstream classes awaiting a special class placement, or in special classes awaiting a special school place);

— the failure to invest, plan, and deliver adequate school infrastructure and supports has left many hundreds of children with additional needs without appropriate education;

— the comprehensive Report on the Review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 revealed profound dissatisfaction with support services, finding that 49 per cent of parents and 38 per cent of staff surveyed described their contact with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) as "unhelpful" or "very unhelpful", while 41 per cent of parents and 46 per cent of staff reported similarly negative experiences with Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs);

— the widespread denial of essential Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, through the effective imposition of a cap on numbers or a narrow reinterpretation of SNA duties, is causing severe hardship; and

— delays in clarifying SNA allocations to schools are creating unnecessary stress and anxiety for school leaders, parents, and children alike, destabilising the start of the school year;

condemns the Government for:

— its abject failure to strategically invest, plan, and deliver appropriate school places and supports for children with additional needs;

— effectively denying children access to education based solely on their additional needs, thereby violating their fundamental rights; and

— creating an environment where parents are forced to resort to legal action to vindicate their children's basic right to education; and

calls on the Government to:

— immediately publish the exact number of children with additional needs still awaiting a school place for the 2025/2026 academic year, broken down by county and educational setting (primary/post-primary, special class/special school);

— immediately publish the exact number of children with additional needs who have a formal offer of a school place but are prevented from taking it up due to delays in building works, broken down by county and educational setting;

— establish a time-bound School Building Delivery Task Force with the mandate to ensure the expeditious and priority delivery of special schools and special classes, this task force must include relevant technical and departmental expertise and incorporate continuous engagement with local school communities and parents;

— initiate an independent review of the role, function, and resourcing of the NCSE and SENOs to improve efficiency, transparency, and performance;

— commit to a significant investment in the recruitment and retention of SNAs and Special Education Teachers (SETs) to meet current and projected demand;

— review and reform the SNA and SET allocation model to ensure it is needs-based, transparent, and timely, and to ensure the voice of the child, their parents/guardians, and school leaders is central in the decision-making process; and

— publish and implement a costed, medium-to-long-term strategic plan to guarantee that every child with additional needs has equal access to appropriate education within their own community, ending the crisis-driven approach of many long years.

I welcome the opportunity to introduce this motion on an issue of profound urgency and fundamental justice, namely, the ongoing and shameful denial of appropriate education to children with additional needs in this State. The right to education is a fundamental right for every child, as enshrined in our Constitution and in international conventions, yet this Government has systematically failed to uphold this right. I welcome affected parents from the Equality in Education campaign, among others, to the Visitors Gallery. They are most welcome. In truth, I am sorry they have to be here.

Despite two separate Dáil motions earlier this year calling for the provision of appropriate school places, the Government rejected these calls. The Minister for education has repeatedly declined to provide this House with the exact number of children still awaiting a place for September, despite a clear commitment to do so. I hope the senior Minister joins us for this really important debate. This refusal is an insult to this Parliament and, more importantly, to the parents and families. As of mid-June, an estimated 260 children had no offer of any school place. This number is likely to have decreased significantly by now. The Minister of State should clarify this but, as always, the devil is in the detail. This is not about offers. It is about physical school places with the necessary supports and resources. The Equality in Education campaign has identified at least 168 children who have an offer but who cannot take it up due to delays in essential building works or school transport. It is an offer on paper that is, in fact, a cruel illusion in reality. Is uafásach é sin.

Numerous families, exhausted and abandoned by the State, have been forced to initiate legal proceedings to secure a basic school place for their child, a stressful and arduous course of action that should be unimaginable in any republic. These figures are a significant undercount. They do not include children being homeschooled while awaiting a place, children undertaking excessively long and burdensome daily journeys or children placed in settings that are inappropriate, such as in mainstream while waiting for a special class or in a special class while waiting for a special school.

This failure to invest, plan and deliver has left hundreds of children behind. It is compounded by a support system in crisis. The recent EPSEN Act review revealed profound dissatisfaction, with nearly half of parents describing their contact with the NCSE as unhelpful or very unhelpful. The widespread denial of essential SNA support through what amounts to an undeclared cap is causing severe hardships. Delays in clarifying SNA and SET allocations are destabilising schools and causing untold anxiety. We condemn the effective denial of education based solely on a child's additional needs, which is a clear violation of their fundamental rights. We condemn the creation of an environment where parents are forced to resort to the immense stress and financial burden of legal action simply to vindicate their children's basic right to education.

Our call to action is clear. We demand immediate transparency and call on the Department to publish the exact number of children awaiting a place and those blocked by building and school transport delays, disaggregated by county and setting. We demand immediate delivery and the establishment of a time-bound task force to fast-track building projects. We demand systemic reform and an independent review of the NCSE and SENOs to restore trust and efficiency. We demand investment and a commitment to recruit and retain SNAs and SETs with the reformed, needs-based allocation model that centres the voice of the child, parent and school leader. Crucially, we demand a lasting solution and the publication and implementation of a costed, medium- to long-term strategic plan with multi-annual funding to finally guarantee that every child with additional needs has equal access to appropriate education within their own community.

The time for deflection and excuses is over. The time for action is now. I commend this motion to the House.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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Ó toghadh mé, tá mé tar éis labhairt leis na scórtha teaghlach, teaghlaigh a bhfuil iachall orthu troid lá i ndiaidh lae ar son an rud is bunúsaí atá de dhíth orthu, oideachas ceart dá páistí. Parents are sick and tired of fighting. They are carers and workers, often raising other children too, and they are forced to become part-time activists and policy experts on top of that, just to secure the supports their children need. Is é seo an tríú seachtain ar ais ar scoil agus fós, fud fad an Stáit, tá páistí a bhfuil riachtanais bhreise acu ina suí sa bhaile fad is atá a gcuid deartháireacha agus deirfiúracha ar scoil sa seomra ranga. Tá oideachas cuí diúltaithe dóibh de bharr oibreacha a bheith curtha siar agus easpa áiteanna speisialta go háitiúil.

The Minister reneged on a promise to tell the House precisely how many children have no choice but to stay at home. Being offered a place in an as yet non-existent classroom does not count as a proper place. Sadly, at this stage, families are all too familiar with the reality of delay, distraction and indifference. Is cinnte gurb é cur chuige easnamhach an Rialtais cúis leis an bpraiseach ina bhfuil muid faoi láthair. We know the Department is refusing to sanction places where there is a clear demand. In County Kildare, there is a distinct under-provision of mild and moderate special classes, disproportionately affecting children with disabilities like Down's syndrome.

Effectively, we have a tiered system in operation, with some disabilities privileged over others. Families are constantly having to choose between bad or worse. One family in Kildare are choosing between a 120 km round-trip commute to a special class in Meath or an 80 km commute to Dublin, which is closer to their appointments. What the family want is for Caoimhe to go to school in her community.

Labhair mé le han-chuid príomhoidí atá faoi bhrú ón Roinn spásanna neamhoiriúnacha a thiontú ina seomraí ranga. I am aware of many SENOs blocking special class placements recommended by educational psychologists. In all these cases, schools and families are wrangling with a system that is meant to help. Instead, it gatekeeps essential supports at every corner. Sinn Féin will not stand by while children with additional needs are treated as less than.

We will fight with families until they are cherished and counted as much as every other child in this State.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Earlier this year, Deputy Conor McGuinness and I met with parents of children with disabilities from Waterford city and county. At the time, those parents were heartbroken because they had no idea if their child would have an appropriate class place. Many of them were sent on a wild goose chase, as they were told they had to contact schools themselves. In some instances, they had to contact 14, 15 and 16 schools only to be told each and every time they made a phone call that there was no special class and no place for their child. I arranged meetings with the local SENO and the National Council for Special Education. I was taken aback by the fact that they could not tell me how many children were waiting for special classes. They did not have the data. They could not tell me how many additional special classes were going to be put in place. They told me that it simply was not possible to provide special classes in some of the schools. I picked up the phone to school principals across Waterford city and county, as did Deputy McGuinness. Those same schools told us they could provide special classes, but they needed physical space and additional supports. I went back to the National Council for Special Education and the SENO and, lo and behold, the classes were eventually put in place within a couple of months. We had meetings with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan. We had a Private Members' business debate here not so long ago when parents again came to the Public Gallery. Rebecca Meehan from Dungarvan in County Waterford was one of those campaigners, among many others.

The lack of joined-up thinking and planning right across the system was breathtaking. from the National Council for Special Education and the Department right down. That is an absolute failure. It is not fair on those children. We are here again with a motion because, while there were improvements in some areas and additional classes, some of the classes that were announced in Waterford city and county are not available as the additional physical space or resources were not made available. That infuriates the principals and teachers in those schools but also the parents.

We need a proper plan. It is not beyond us to fix this problem. We are here every year and every year we fall behind. As an Teachta O'Rourke said, more than 230 children are still waiting. It is going to get worse unless this Government and the Department get on top of it.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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In the 11 years I have been an elected representative in Dublin Mid-West, every single year as the school term approaches, my office receives calls from desperate parents who do not believe their child will have a school place come September. This year has been no different. The parents do not come to us at the start of that battle, but near the end. They have spent months or, in some cases, years battling for those places.

The key problems remain the same today as when I started in this job. We simply do not have enough places in our schools and where there are places, there is a lack of follow-on places. Despite the fact that we know the number of children with additional needs in junior schools, there is not adequate planning to ensure they have appropriate places moving through senior school or into secondary school. The delays in building new schools, units or extensions are extraordinary. It is six, seven or eight years in some cases. Lucan Special School and Saint Mary's Boys School in Lucan are just two of the schools where there are ongoing delays.

When parents and their children finally secure places, there are real question marks about the adequacy of those places. That is no criticism of the teachers, principals or SNAs. In many cases, the schools are too far from where the parents are; school transport is not provided or is then withdrawn; or the conditions in which the teachers, SNAs and the young children get their education are wholly inappropriate.

In the most recent case I had, the mother battled for over a year. It was only last week, some weeks after the school term started, that she finally secured a place. The thing she said to me that really struck home was the lack of any support or adequate information and communication as she battled for a very basic need for her child.

The issue is very simple: the 1916 Proclamation promised to cherish the children of the nation equally, yet every single year the Government is failing children. It is time to stop. That is why we have tabled this motion. I commend the motion to the House.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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Why is it a secret as to how many children with additional needs are without an appropriate class place? Whether it is one, ten or 100, it is one child too many, as we are talking about a child who is unable to go to school in Ireland in 2025.

There are two calls in particular in this motion tonight that I want to highlight. They are reasonable and sensible. They are to establish the school building delivery task force, to ensure the delivery on time and to meet the demand for special classes and special schools, and to publish and implement a costed medium to long-term strategic plan to guarantee that every child with additional needs has access to an appropriate class place. We need to plan. I do not know how many times that has to be said. It is not rocket science. A child who is born today does not need a school place tomorrow. There is adequate time to plan, but it is not being done. I cannot understand why that is the case.

I had a prime example in my own constituency in Ballinasloe. Scoil an Chroí Naofa in Ballinasloe town has been waiting 29 years for a promised new school. The school has three special classes and it would love to open more. Children in the area have recently gone to an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class in Loughrea. They were promised a school bus but there was no school bus on day one of the school term. The school had to arrange taxis. The issue has since been sorted, but if the school in Ballinasloe got the new school it was promised 29 years ago, with the class places that are required, we would not be splitting up brothers and sisters, some of whom must trek to Loughrea. This can be solved, but we need to plan. The Government needs to sort this out once and for all.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Every child with additional needs has a constitutional right to education. That is something my colleague Deputy Cullinane and I raised with the Minister of State at the start of February this year. It is not simply a right to education but to a suitable and appropriate school place. Families are doing everything in their power, but they are being failed by this Government. In Dungarvan and Waterford, it took months of campaigning, public protest, sleep-outs and the threat of legal action before the Government moved to act. Parents and guardians had to fight tooth and nail just to be heard. Not every parent has the capacity to take on the State. Many are exhausted, dispirited and worn down. The Government is taking advantage of that. That is not acceptable and I am not going to stand for it.

This summer, there were at least 260 children without any school place at all and while some have since been offered a place, in many cases there is no room. Children are being put into corners, cupboards and corridors. In other cases, transport has not been provided, which means children cannot even attend the hard-fought place their parents secured after much campaigning.

Across the State, parents and guardians have been forced to campaign, protest and litigate just to secure what should be guaranteed, their child's basic right. Educators and school leaders too are doing everything they can to vindicate that right, but they are being left without the resources they urgently need and the political will that is needed to resolve this crisis.

This is part of a litany of failure where children are routinely denied services, treatments, adequate care and their rights by the State in everything from healthcare to social care, education and housing, and where parents must fight the Government rather than being supported to secure what should be automatic. This was foreseeable and it is preventable. It is a direct result of a failure to plan. Let us not see the same failure from the Government next year. The Government must plan now. That is why we are bringing forward this motion: to demand transparency on the numbers and a real plan for delivery of special education places, and investment in SNAs and SETs to meet demand.

The time for excuses is over. The Minister must publish the figures, deliver the places, resource schools properly and end this crisis once and for all. Let us not see a repeat of this next year.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the time to raise this important issue. The Equality in Education group has said that 168 children have been offered an appropriate school place but cannot take it up due to delays in essential building works. We believe there is a certain amount of waiting list manipulation going on. A place in an unbuilt school is not a place. A place in a cubby hole with no changing facilities for two children is not a place. Even when special transport is granted to a school that does not to exist, that is not a place. The problem has been going on for years. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in power for years and it seems they are doing nothing about it.

The policy of the Government and the Department states that where there is a demand, a service will be provided. They should tell that to the parents in Murhur National School in Moyvane in north Kerry, where an empty classroom was available and the principal and the board of management were in favour of it, but children there are travelling outside the county, to Glin, County Limerick, for a school place, as no place was provided for them.

7 o’clock

There is a vague promise that there may be provision next year, but that is not good enough for the people there. I was contacted by one parent who works in education. She told me that there are two early intervention classes in the whole of County Kerry, but 22 in the neighbouring county of Cork. How does that feel to the parents looking at other children are getting ready for school while their own child has to stay at home? Cork has 22 classes and Kerry just has two. There are six places in the whole county of Kerry, but some children stay on for a second year so in reality there are three or four early intervention classes. We all know the good work that can be done when intervention is made early. I ask the Minister of State to intervene to provide more places for people, particularly in County Kerry.

Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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This time of year is about going back to school for many families. That means getting the school bags, getting the books together, and getting the uniforms ready. For many families there will not be a school place for their child to get ready for. Sinn Féin is tabling this motion to highlight the terrible injustice and to put pressure on the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government to listen and to act now. It is shocking to consider all of those families that have been abandoned by the Government. I am working with a family in Swords. The dad contacted my office in a desperate state about his daughter with additional needs who cannot get a school place in their local school. I raised the matter directly with the Minister for Education and Youth in a parliamentary question asking what options are open to this family and their child. The written response I received was totally unacceptable. She suggested the family contact TUSLA education support services, which they did, only to be told to go on to Facebook and access a private tutor. The TUSLA education support service followed up with a phone call to the family and advised them again to go onto Facebook to try to get homeschooling for their daughter. You could not make this up. It is a clear indication of a broken system.

I have tabled another parliamentary question to the Minister asking once again what options are open to this family who are in desperate need of a school place for their child. This is one of many similar cases. What happened to the promise that every child is entitled to a school place? The Equality in Education campaign identified a further 168 children without a place in school. It is all guesstimates because the Minister will not provide the actual numbers of children that do not have a school place. In Fingal East I know there is a number of such cases because parents are contacting me. The school term has commenced and they have no place to go with their children.

We need solutions. These families deserve better. I call on the Minister to publish and implement a costed, medium to long-term strategic plan to guarantee every child with additional needs has equal access to appropriate education within their own community, finally ending this crisis-driven approach to children's education. I will, of course, support the motion.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Eireann" and substitute the following:

"notes that:

— a child's right to education is enshrined in the Constitution and, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), must be accessible on an equal basis with others in the community in which they live; and

— the Government is committed to ensuring that each child and young person with a special educational need has an appropriate school place, in line with their Constitutional right and Programme for Government commitments;

notes that the Government will:

— progress work on the development of a more inclusive education system for children with special education needs by supporting them to attend their local school;

— continue to expand the number of special school places, special classes and special education teaching hours as required across the State;

— improve communication and outreach to parents of children with special educational needs to streamline the process by which parents apply for specialist school places, reducing the burden on them and improving the timelines, including the introduction of a common application procedure;

— continue to increase investment into the area of special education to ensure that every child can reach their full potential;

— support additional schools and students to benefit from the Summer Programme 2025;

— ensure that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will continue to engage intensively with parents and all educational partners to continue to increase capacity;

— ensure that available capacity across schools is maximised to make provision for children with special education needs; and

— prioritise school building projects delivering additional capacity for special classes and at special schools; and

further notes:

— the continued significant State investment of €2.9 billion in supporting the provision of special education, a 48 per cent increase since 2020;

— 97 per cent of all children and young people enrolled in schools, including the majority of children and young people with special educational needs, are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers;

— the significant increases in the allocation of Special Education Teachers (SETs) and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to support children with special educational needs in our schools which facilitates them in prioritising the allocation of all of these resources to children with the greatest level of need, including the completion of all SNA reviews and appeals for September 2025, there are now over 23,000 SNAs in our schools, an increase of 43 per cent since 2020;

— there are almost 21,000 SETs working in our schools whose sole role is to support children and young people with special educational needs, this is a 23 per cent increase since 2020, approximately 15,000 of these SETs support children and young people in mainstream classes, supplementing the work of mainstream teachers;

— the strategic initiatives introduced to provide for the continued, accelerated delivery of special class places in mainstream schools and special school places, the number of special classes has doubled over the last 5 years to over 3,700 and 16 new special schools have been established;

— 407 new special classes have been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year and over 300 new special school places are being provided, including over 100 places in five new special schools opening presently;

— over 3,700 special classes have been made available across the country for the 2025/26 school year, ensuring that children can continue to access a special class in their local area avoiding the need for long distance travel;

— the commitment to prioritise investment in special education and school places as part of €7.55 billion in National Development Plan (NDP) capital funding for 2026-2030;

— the Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion and the NCSE have used statutory powers to compel one primary school in County Kildare to open two new special classes and the NCSE initiated S67 proceedings against a number of schools to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs were enrolled;

— confirmation from the NCSE that all, bar a very small handful of children in Dublin, known to them by the mid-February cut-off point, have been placed for this school year and that there are available special class places for these children and young people;

— the progress being made by the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE in introducing new measures to support improved forward planning for the 2026/27 school year which brings forward the date of notification and will see the majority of new special classes sanctioned by 31st December, 2025;

— the streamlining of funding to ensure schools can access funding for repurposing accommodation;

— the significant investment in the expansion of staffing at the NCSE to assist families of children with special educational needs in all aspects of their educational journey, including accessing a placement appropriate to their needs;

— a new Education Therapy Service is being established which will commence initially in special schools and subsequently extend to schools with special classes and mainstream provision, it is intended that the service will be rolled out on a phased basis in some special schools at a later stage in the 2025/26 school year, with a wider roll-out for the 2026/27 school year, it is expected that recruitment of therapists for this service will be initiated in Q4 2025;

— the continued expansion of the Summer Programme, which has seen a 52 per cent increase in school participation since 2022, with over 1,900 schools taking part in 2025, and the introduction of the hot schools meals programme this year to support schools;

— the extensive review by the Department of Education and Youth of the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, which was published during the summer and the work underway to implement recommendations;

— ongoing work on the first SNA Workforce Development Plan by the Department of Education and Youth, which recognises the essential role played by SNAs in our school, which is engaging with SNAs, schools, unions and other stakeholders, and which is underpinned by a new national training programme for SNAs delivered by Atlantic Technological University costing €1.9 million;

— the work underway on the SNA Redeployment scheme which for the first time, will allow SNAs in posts which may no longer be required for reasons such as falling enrolments, reduced care needs or changing demographics, to be redeployed to a school which has a vacant/new post;

— the significant level of funding and supports being provided to schools to deliver accommodation for special classes, including school building projects, the repurposing of available rooms, and the provision of modular accommodation;

— the new pilot single application system for admission to post-primary schools, including admission to post-primary special classes, being rolled out by the Department of Education and Youth this year across five areas; and

— the renewed focus of the Government on the area of disability services, with a particular focus on improving the delivery of services for children with disabilities.".

I welcome the opportunity to address the House this evening to provide an update on special education provision which is a topic of particular importance to children and young people with additional needs and their families who seek appropriate school places each year.

Since taking up my position in January of this year as Minister of State for special education and inclusion, I have met with many families and advocacy groups who have raised concerns regarding the provision of special classes and special school places. I share their desire for us to do better and I will continue to meet with them and listen to the concerns. The key issue we are here to discuss is the provision of special education and special school places. I will focus on the provision of places for the start of this school year and I will then touch on the forward planning work under way for the next school year, 2026-27, and beyond.

Since we took up our new roles earlier this year, both Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee, and I have had a weekly meeting with the chief executive of the NCSE and senior departmental officials to track the progress in providing new special education places for this school year. The provision of these new places has been my number one priority over the past number of months.

I sincerely understand the challenges parents are facing in securing a special class or special school place. Parents of children and young people with additional needs should know where their son or daughter will be attending school at the same time as other parents. This is something I am committed to working towards with the Department and the NCSE.

It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with additional needs continue to be supported to access mainstream classes with their peers. These students are supported by their classroom teachers and can access additional special education teaching and SNA supports if required. At the start of this school year, we have over 23,000 SNAs and almost 21,000 special education teachers working within our schools whose sole role is to support children and young people with additional needs. Notwithstanding this, there will always be a place for specialised placements. For children with more complex needs a special class is provided and for those with the most complex needs a special school place must be provided. At the start of this school year, over 20,500 students with more complex needs will be enrolled in special classes and in special schools. That is an increase of 67% in the past five years.

The accelerated delivery of additional special education places by the Department and the NCSE, working closely with the schools, is providing 400 new special classes and over 300 new special school places annually. This equates to 2,700 new special class and special school places being provided each year across the country. The Department and the NCSE are forward planning to provide the same level of additional capacity for the next school year as well. Deputies are well aware that my Department and the NCSE constantly review the measures being taken to support the forward planning of this provision. Following this ongoing review, a new parents notification process was introduced by the NCSE ahead of this school year. This was to address a significant issue where new special classes were being opened and, in some cases, were being filled by children who were not previously known to the NCSE. I sincerely thank parents and families for their co-operation with this new process.

The NCSE reported that almost 3,300 verified notifications for children and young people seeking a special class or special school places for this school year were received by the mid-February of this year. Through the provision of over 2,700 new places and the availability of another 1,200 or so places through the normal movement of students, almost 4,000 places were available. Therefore, sufficient capacity was available to meet the needs of the almost 3,300 children known to the NCSE by the mid-February timeline, and indeed many children coming forward after this timeline. It is important to clearly state that the NCSE will always work to support families coming forward after the cut-off timeline for the parents’ notification process. This was the case last year and it will be the same for the upcoming 1 October cut-off point for notifications this year. We have brought forward the deadline to October this year so we are in a better position into the next school year. We hope to be in a position to offer the places available and that children are offered places before the end of this year for next year, to avoid all the stress and anxiety for families and children going into the school year. This is a commitment we have given and we are working very hard towards it. A total of 407 new special classes have been sanctioned by the Department and the NCSE for this school year, with new special classes in each and every county. Of these,103 are new special classes being established across schools in Dublin. This is the single largest annual increase in special class provision in Dublin. Well over 300 new special school places are being provided. Approximately 150 of these are being provided in Dublin and 75 in Cork. Again, these are the highest annual increases in special school places in both counties.

I am happy that after extensive work, five new special schools are opening, providing over 100 new special school places. These new special schools are opening in Nenagh, Castleblayney, the northside of Cork city, and Belmayne and Lucan in County Dublin. These new special schools are in addition to the 11 new special schools opened in recent years. This will bring the number of new special schools opened in Dublin to six and the number of new special schools opened in Cork to four since 2019. The new special school in Castleblayney is the first special school to be located in County Monaghan. I thank the local education and training boards for taking on the role of school patron for these new special schools.

We also acknowledge the various project management teams and contractors who have worked night and day over recent months to get these new special schools ready. While I have provided details on the additional capacity, the NCSE reports that all children seeking a special class or special school place outside Dublin, and the vast majority of those in Dublin, known to them by mid-February 2025 have been offered school places.

In the past two weeks, the NCSE has been supporting a very small number of children - and I mean in the single digits - to access available special class places in Dublin. Decisions on whether families access these places are a matter for families and individuals, but regardless, the NCSE and the Department will continue to work with this small number of families to support them and the children to access places.

While children being enrolled in these new special classes and places is positive news, I am aware that some children have had a delayed start to their school year due to the completion of necessary building work and I am quite aware of the anxiety and challenges caused because of that. I assure the families of these children that these works are being advanced as quickly as possible and that we are checking in several times weekly to see their progress.

Well over 80% of new special classes for this school year are being provided in existing school accommodation. The NCSE has worked closely with schools that are waiting for modular accommodation to provide special classrooms to put in place contingency arrangements. Teachers and SNAs have been allocated and recruited by these schools and are available to support students. In many cases, students enrolling in new special classes are already attending mainstream classes in the school and can continue to do so. Some schools are using alternative accommodation within the school temporarily, and with the assistance of other schools.

We are forward planning, as I said. We brought forward the date this year to 1 October so we will know what the need is earlier in the year. We will know the figures and I can confirm to the House that the Department and the NCSE have met patron bodies in recent weeks. Throughout the summer, we have been putting building blocks in place to make sure that after 1 October when we know the need and locations of the need, we will engage with school authorities to open special classes and know the need for special schools.

The Government is committed to opening additional special schools to ensure there is capacity. I have put everything I have into this job since I was appointed in January this year and I assure the House and the parents who are here that I know the struggle they are facing. I understand it 100%. The Department and the NCSE will work day and night to make sure the challenges being faced by children with additional needs are met forthwith. We have an awful lot of work to do. We have achieved an awful lot in recent months. We have it down to single digits at the moment. We have an awful lot of work to do and we will continue to do it to make sure the system we have in place from 1 October onwards brings certainty earlier in the calendar year, that we can start any building works earlier-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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-----and that we will have a place for everyone. The most important thing is that we have sufficient capacity in schools. We must work to ensure we meet the needs of every student and every family and that is the commitment I give to the House this evening.

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I will use my time to highlight an unbelievable situation. A DEIS school in my constituency was originally denied the recommended SNA allocation. The reason given to the school for this decision was a freeze or cap on SNA recruitment. When the Minister was questioned in March about this ridiculous freeze, we were told that if the school feels it has insufficient SNA support to meet the needs of its students, an application can be submitted to the NCSE requesting a review of its allocation. This school had undergone a thorough review with the NCSE. The special educational needs organiser, SENO, recommended the increase. The children's needs had been clearly outlined and the school was effectively denied this increase in SNAs because the Department did not sanction it. This was all under the watch of this Government.

After meeting the school principal and vice principal, I raised this matter directly with the Minister for Education and Youth who passed the buck to the Minister of State. Neither appeared willing to meet the school or address these concerns. Despite the school doing everything expected of it, it was let down by the Minister and her Government. Sadly, the story can easily be replicated across many other constituencies. Parents and principals can relate countless examples of their continuing fight for school places, SNAs and special classes. In recent weeks ,the school principal has informed me that the appeal of the appeal of the SNA allocation has been allowed by the NCSE. Thankfully, it will move from 2.5 SNAs to four in the mainstream school. This was entirely as a result of the school's determination and the support of the school community of Marymount National School. Resources were drained for another appeal in a school already overstretched.

For the Minister of State's credibility, he should not only support this important motion, but implement the proposals in it. I call on him to pay particular attention to the call for a review of the national cap on SNAs so that families and schools in Drogheda and beyond do not find themselves in another fight for supports down the line. The fact is that the failure to invest, plan and deliver adequate school infrastructure and supports has left many hundreds of children with additional needs without appropriate education. The children of Drogheda, the children of Louth and the children of Ireland deserve so much more from the Government.

Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not doubt the Minister of State's sincerity. I believe he is sincere about trying to resolve this, but with all due respect, his response did not reflect the experience of people on the ground. Why else would these mammies and daddies be in the Gallery tonight? Céad míle fáilte to them for keeping up the good fight.

It is like déja vu. I stood here in February with the Minister of State and explained how my constituents in Dublin South-Central who are parents fight every day for special places in schools, a fundamental right promised in our Constitution. Wonderful grassroots groups such as Families Unite for Services and Support, FUSS, Equality in Education and D12 Autism work tirelessly for families. The lack of school places and transport arrangements should not come as a surprise. Parents have to beg for places and now some are burdened by the added obstacle of no transport. They may finally be given a place at a school far from their home - we will take the Minister of State to task on those numbers - but now a lot of them cannot get their children to the school doors because of a lack of transport.

Elaine O'Reilly is a warrior of a mammy who lives in the Liberties in Dublin 8. Like many others, she fought for years for her son, Dawson. She found out in June that he had a place - yippee - in Dublin 2. Elaine does not drive so Dawson was granted a transport ticket by Bus Éireann. Bus Éireann needs to step up to the plate. There is a recorded message with no information. She ended up hailing a taxi in the rain to bring him to school. The cost is €60 per day. Repeated requests for an interim grant from the Minister of State's Department went unanswered until today when transport suddenly materialised at 4.30 p.m. Others remain, unfortunately, distressed and in limbo. Why are grants not available when the school year begins? A cost of €300 per week on taxis to school is not affordable.

It would be remiss to say that the Minister of State and his predecessors took their eyes off the ball because the eyes of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were not on the ball for the past few years. The belated attention, the lastminute.com solutions are just not working. They have failed. The Minister of State must try harder. He must do better.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Like the previous speaker, I do not doubt the Minister of State's sincerity, but it is a load of bull. I will be honest. I will be straight with him. Every year we come here and parents of children with additional needs are being let down. One Minister after another comes in with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste telling us all they are doing. However, people have children with additional needs at home who cannot get to school. Why are those children not being treated the same as every other child? Why are those children being victimised and discriminated against? Does the Minister of State know why? It is because the Government does not give a rat's ass about them. I am sick and tired of listening to figures and hearing that the Government is doing this and that. I had a meeting last night with parents. They were given school places, but no transport. Children from Knocknaheeny, Mayfield and Ballyvolane are being sent to Rochestown and Carrigaline. That is an hour each way. Parents have to take time off work or school and cannot drop their other children to school yet the Minister of State comes in here and tells me that there is a review and the Government will know in October. It should know today. It is its job to know today. How dare the Minister of State come in here and disrespect those parents, not just the parents in the Gallery, but those all over the country who have to deal with this?

The Government talks about forward planning. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years and Fianna Fáil for nine years. What have they been doing? I have parents crying on the phone to me because their children cannot get to school. I had a woman on our meeting last night. Her child has never been to school and the Minister of State is telling us about forward planning. I have one simple question. There are children in Cork who have no bus places to Scoil Éanna, St. Paul's, Scoil Bernadette, Rochestown, Carrigaline, east Cork and Carrignavar. When will those parents have access to buses to bring their children to school? I spoke to representatives of Bus Éireann. They will not even take the phone calls from the parents. It is a disgrace; that is what it is.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the parents in the Gallery. These parents suffer every day because this Government is not doing its job. Every child deserves a place in school and every child with additional needs deserves a place in school. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed, and continue to fail, children. It is the ordinary families like the parents here tonight who break their necks and are left simply to cope on their own, to pay for every intervention their children need. An estimated 260 children were without an offer of an appropriate place at the start the summer but we know that the scale of this is far greater, with campaign groups identifying a further 168 children. Others who have been offered a place face uncertainty due to delays in building works and also with no transport. This is a failure. It is a failure to plan, a failure to invest and a failure to deliver adequate school infrastructure and supports over successive Governments. It is either a failure of priority or basic competency. In my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan where we have secured an additional 18 spaces for special education in Castleblayney, it is not nearly enough, as the Minister of State said earlier. This school is not open yet. He said that at the start of October he is going to start to plan for the future. What happened all the years that he has been in government that he did not plan? The school in Castleblayney was only a stopgap, with 18 places for all the children in County Monaghan who have special needs. What we need in County Monaghan is a permanent special school, not a school with just 18 places. We need a permanent school and I have been told that a letter as sent to the Department offering the ground for a permanent school and the Minister of State has not acted on it. The time for a crisis-driven approach to special education must come to an end. Sinn Féin's motion outlines what this Government needs to do and these are the measures that every TD should support.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Unfortunately, this is like rinse and repeat. Earlier, the Minister of State spoke about the fact that the number of children who do not have appropriate places is in single digits. In fairness Equality in Education has the number at 168. That is the number that the Minister of State could not provide. He has promised to come back with those numbers. If we could have a real conversation in relation to what the numbers are, or what the actual need is, and how we can actually address this particular issue, it would be helpful. It is all well and good talking about a single point of application but we know that this is only going to be piloted in a number of schools next year. We all welcome the fact that in October people will be able to make an application to the NCSE. We also accept that all that information should be available, particularly for kids going into secondary school. It is not that they dropped from Mars. These kids are known about. This information is there and none of this makes any sense whatsoever. What we need to see is that we have the correct information and then ensure that these kids are dealt with properly. I brought up the issue of Rampark National School earlier. It relates to a child who does not have an SNA and who is severely impaired visually. Teachers and others are speaking about the health and safety issue that has arisen. They came from a childcare setting where they have a greater level of supervision and protection. They are now in the class. The school is actually saying at this stage there are health and safety issues. The child has tripped and there are issues relating to bones. I also brought up the issue of school transport and I will be following that up.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's time is up.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I accept that. The fact is we do this every year. We do the exact same thing. We need a solution because it is not right to have these parent having to go through the trauma of this and then to show up here and to be advocates. They just want to be parents and they want this Government to deliver for their children. Sin é.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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I welcome the motion from Sinn Féin and the opportunity to raise these issues and concerns relating to school places for children with additional education needs. The Labour Party will absolutely support the motion. This is the third motion on this subject in 2025, including one of our own. The reality for a significant number of children with additional education needs and their parents has not changed. The number of parents contacting my office and the offices of colleagues across this House is actually increasing. However, I will acknowledge the role that the Minister of State has played. There has been slight progress. He has worked well and I appreciate that, but the scale of the progress that we need is significant. When it comes to additional educational needs, the State is completely failing children and their families and has done so for a long time. As the motion outlines, there is no centralised system within the Department or the NCSE to deal with applications for a special school place. This fact immediately presents parents with difficulties. I could not believe when I learned it that the NCSE has no centralised application system. Any private company across the country that would deal with significant numbers at this scale would have a centralised system to deal with these numbers. There is a significant lack of accountability when it comes to these numbers, and we cannot track the number of children who require an appropriate special educational needs setting. Parents are in limbo throughout any process they may follow to get a school place for their child, so much so that they will travel long distances in the morning and the afternoon after school to get to and from a school that provides for their additional need and that is of course if they can actually access that school place. That is not actually a solution. It is an exception they make to ensure their child's education. It should not be a solution to it. It should be the case that if children want to go to a school, they are able to access the school in their own locality. We all know that the best thing we can do for children with additional needs is integrate them into their communities. I have children in my own family who have additional needs, and the best thing we can do for them is to integrate them into their communities. I will share this very personal circumstance. I have a cousin at home who is five years old and deaf. He travels to Cork city every day to go to school. His sister, who is four, is now attending school in Mallow. That is the difficulty that child faces. It is upsetting to hear it and it is upsetting to accept it, for my uncle and my aunt who have to accept that and explain the conversation to that young child. That is the difficult part of it. The paradox we are faced with is that we have never had more teachers or SNAs in our system. We have 407 new special classrooms and five new special schools. However, significant challenges remain, and that is the fundamental issue.

I also want to speak to the significant issue of appropriate school places. I am educated on this. I taught in schools where appropriate settings had to be put in place.

I understand the need for an appropriate school setting for a child with special educational needs, that is, for that child's own needs. Children who have special educational needs are not all the same. Therefore, not every setting is appropriate for every child. No longer in this country can we have a special educational needs setting that does not give a child the good education they deserve and need.

The number of SNAs can never be capped. There should never be a freeze on SNA provision in this country. If the NCSE or a special educational needs officer in an area tells the Department that SNA provision must be given to a particular school, then it must be done.

I also want to focus on school transport, which is under the remit of the Minister of State and I appreciate this. During the summer I called for an overhaul of the school transport system. It is very easy for me on this side of the House to say we need an overhaul of the school transport system but we know, the Minister of State's colleagues in Government know, and every person who comes to us during the summer looking for school transport knows that there is very little I or any other TD can do. I am sick of ringing Bus Éireann and speaking to it about specific cases. It is a system that is failing children, and in particular children with special educational needs. It is deeply frustrating and upsetting to come across families who have found a special educational needs setting for their child but cannot access it because of transport. This should not be the case and the Minister of State and I both know this. I will say there is no quick fix to this and that is absolutely accepted.

I want to focus on assessments of need. There are more than 15,000 children in the country, with an estimation of there being 25,000 children by the end of the year, waiting on an assessment of need in the country. This is before any therapies are involved. In a country so affluent, we are a fantastic country for waiting lists. They will remain with us unless appropriate plans are established and put in place. No child in this country should be without the necessary therapies, supports and resources they so badly need because of a waiting list issue that has sprung up over many decades. I am more than willing to work with the Minister of State and the Department on policy initiatives that would help this situation. At the centre of this are children and they are what is most important.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Kenny for sharing his time. I also thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion. In recent months not a week has gone by when my office has not received calls from worried parents looking for a special school place for their children. I am worried about the numbers the Minister of State has given us this evening. Like other colleagues, I am dealing with at least four families who do not have a place at present. This is half the number the Minister of State has spoken about. My biggest problem is the NCSE. I have been ringing it and emailing it since July, as has my office, and I get no response from it. This is simply not good enough. The parents are at the end of their tether looking for the special education places their loved ones so deserve. Something needs to happen. We are elected to represent these people. They come to us looking for assistance but the NCSE is simply not responding to me. I can send on the cases to the Minister of State. I have a litany of emails I can send on to him.

I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with St. Mark's Special School, which was recently built in Newbridge. It is a fabulous school. It shows the model of what can be done. It is a fabulous school and a fabulous community. It has moved into a new school building. We were promised a second special school for south Kildare but what we got was a school located in Naas, which is in north Kildare. When I spoke to the Minister for education previously, she told me Kildare South has the need for a special school but it was located in Naas. It is a fabulous school but, unfortunately, it is full. Parents are still coming to me looking for this.

I welcome the Minister of State's announcement today that he will put the NCSE on notice to come in four months earlier than last year. The question I have today is the same as the one I asked the Minister for education previously, which is whether this will mean that parents will not be ringing 40 or 50 schools looking for a special education place for their loved one. Will this mean the NCSE and the SENOs will do the work and take the burden off those parents who need a place for their children? We have people sitting in front of us who have made 40 or 50 calls and are at the end of their tether, and it is so disappointing for them and their loved ones. This is what we need from the Minister of State. If the Minister of State has this, and the NCSE will do this, it would be a massive step forward for us in special education. It would take the burden off the parents. I can give examples of 47 schools being contacted in one case involving a young family in Newbridge, 39 schools being contacted in another case, and 42 schools being contacted in another case. This involved an average of 40 to 50 phone calls looking for a special education place. It is not good enough. The NCSE and the SENOs should be doing this. I hope the Minister of State ensures this happens for everybody next year.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion and I thank the Minister of State. I want to speak in particular about a special education teacher allocation for a particular school in my constituency. It is St. Mary's national school on Bishop Street. I contacted the Minister of State directly about this in recent days. According to the Pobal social deprivation index, it serves the most disadvantaged area in the entire country. It is the electoral area of John's A. The school has been rejuvenated and has grown its student population by 76% in the past four years. With this increase in enrolment, it has opened a second autism class and enhanced its commitment to inclusive education.

The allocation the school had in 2021-22 equated to a ratio of 25.3 pupils per SET. The September 2025 allocation equates to a ratio of 33.9 pupils per SET. This is even after a review by the NCSE and an increase of 0.5 of an SET on the original allocation for this year. Basically, there are equivalent DEIS schools in Limerick where the ratio is in the low to mid 20s. For example, last week the Minister of State visited Le Chéile primary school in Limerick. It serves a very similar student profile. It has 20 more pupils than St. Mary's but it has four more SETs. The fact of the matter is that St. Mary's current SET allocation will have significant repercussions on the school's ability to support its student body, especially people with additional needs. Basically, the school cannot buffer this with mainstream teachers. This will undermine its ethos, hinder parental trust and challenge its ability to maintain the high standards it has. Without additional SET resources, the school risks failing to meet the diverse needs of its expanding population. I ask the Minister of State to please intervene with the NCSE on this matter.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. It is a disgrace that the Opposition has to constantly fight the Government on this issue of special education. It is a monumental and completely avoidable situation that it has to be brought up. The amount of anger out there is absolutely avoidable. I have to say the promises and plans made before the end of the school year were empty promises and shoddy and undeliverable plans. Fantasy special education places, and I mean that, are what we see. There is messing around with numbers so it looks like every child has a place but the reality is they do not. Since August we have seen many families who do not have an appropriate school place for their child.

In my constituency of Dublin South-Central, Clogher Road Community College is a case in point. I raised this earlier in the year in the Chamber. The board and the principal want to open a second autism classroom but they have not been able to get in contact with the Department. Miraculously, the school was sanctioned by the NCSE the following week after my discussion in the Chamber. I spoke with the principal, Lesley Byrne, this week who told me nothing has happened. It is still only sanctioned by the NCSE and the Department has not done anything. It needs to operationalise what will happen. In theory, it is there but in practice and in reality, it is not. They are fantasy special education places.

In Stapolin Educate Together National School in Baldoyle, in the constituency of my colleague Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, there is an absolutely ridiculous scenario. The school has two autism classes and a developmental language class. There are over 50 children on a waiting list for an autism class. Six of those children have letters of eligibility for an autism class from the NCSE but, due to the lack of appropriate places, these children are in mainstream classes rather than an appropriate school place. The school would like to open two more autism classes and a mild general learning disability class but the Department has said no because it is trying to open ones in schools that do not already have them. Can we not have things happening at the same time? We can do two things at the one time.

Another vital piece of the jigsaw is that children and young people need transport to school. In Dublin 12, there is a 16-year-old young person, whom I will not name, who is not able to get to school because the driver is often not available at the very last minute and there is no back-up. It is the same for a primary school child, who is also in Dublin 12. This child cannot get school transport at such short notice. This happened so many times last year that the number of days that young person missed was incredible. If it was a parent, he or she would be involved with the EWO but it was not her fault; it was the fault of the transport. This is fantasy school transport.

I am like a broken record saying that children in this country have a right to an education, not only under our Constitution but also under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is not just an education but an appropriate education. What we are seeing now, however, is the Department of education and the NCSE's fantasy school places while nothing is happening. It is absolutely infuriating. We have to do better. It is about time the plans the Government had for all of these spaces are made a reality because, quite frankly, they have not been.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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I commend Sinn Féin on its motion. At the Committee on Disability Matters this morning, the Minister of State told us that the number of children without a special education placement for this school term was in single digits. It is fair to say there was some respectful scepticism among committee members about that claim. I raised with the Minister of State the fact that there is a world of difference between a school placement in a child's local community and a school placement that is a very long distance away from that child's home. We know many families are caught up in gruelling school commutes that add hugely to the challenges they face. The Minister of State's officials confirmed that no data is gathered by his Department on the journey times children educated outside of their own areas endure every day. If data on additional needs placements is to be meaningful, it must reflect the degree to which children's right to be educated in their community, where they live, is being upheld. In the Minister of State's responses to parliamentary questions on this subject, the terminology that comes up is "pathway to education".

It has been brought to my attention by the campaign group Families Unite for Services and Support, FUSS, that it has information on significant numbers of children who have been offered placements in schools for which no buildings yet exist. I have been informed that a school on the northside of Dublin recently notified families who had been offered places that, due to building delays, the predicted opening date for 12 special education places in two classes is being pushed out to 2026. It is reported that the options for those families are home tuition or a return to preschool.

The figures the Minister of State quotes need to reflect the realities on the ground in special education provision. As things stand, a single-digit figure for children without a school placement is a mirage covering over a huge depth of unmet need.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I am not sure the Minister of State quite understands the depth of feeling out there in relation to this issue. What the Government, Ministers, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have said and are saying, always with heartfelt commitment and promise, is that children with special needs will get the support, school places and SNAs they need and that they will have all of the services they need. It is repeated all of the time that this is a priority for this Government. However, the reality on the ground is very different. What we are trying to express to the Minister of State is the difficulty for parents and children when those services are not there for them; the disruption, upset and trauma for families; and the potential of the children themselves being stifled because the State is not stepping in to give them the resources they need.

I will specifically talk about issues that have come across my desk in Wicklow. This is not the first time I have raised this with the Minister of State. I am not sure whether there is a policy discrepancy between what the NCSE is actually implementing and what he is being told but, on the ground, things are not being done correctly or implemented properly. A school in Wicklow was told that the Department had sanctioned a special classroom but the NCSE then told the school that it could not have that even though the school had enrolled children at that point. The school is trying to facilitate and support those children when the NCSE is now saying not to call it a special classroom because it is not one formally, even though one had been sanctioned. Will the Minister of State explain how that is happening? How can a school be told in 2024 that a classroom was sanctioned, on the basis of which it offered places to children, only for it to be told that it would actually have to manage it some other way? There is an impact on the school, on the teachers who are trying to work around this and on the children, even though the school is doing absolutely everything it can to prevent the children being impacted.

New Court School, a special school in Bray, does not have a sufficient SNA allocation. There are 16 students who do not have a school bus service because the bus was cancelled, or rather it was not cancelled but that the contract could not be filled. A number of those students are now not able to go to school because their parents have no way of getting them there. It is not just about the places but also about making sure that, when there are places, children have the supports they need and can get to the school. That is the problem. There are also mainstream classes that do not have sufficient SNAs. In Scoil na Coróine Mhuire in Ashford, there are two SNAs for more than 300 students. The school has tried and it has appealed but it is getting nowhere.

I know the Minister of State took up his job relatively recently. I hope he is trying his best. I really ask that he bring the messages we are giving him to the NCSE and get answers because it is consistent, it is happening all the time and it is parents and students who are really feeling the brunt of this.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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As we start a new term in the Dáil, it is utterly scandalous that there are children all over this country who do not have an appropriate school place. The Government says that it has offered places and, as my colleague said, that only a small number have not been offered places. However, the reality of the places that parents are being offered and that children are being sent to is that some of them do not exist because the buildings do not exist yet or that the places are not appropriate. In my own constituency of Dublin North-West, I have written to the Minister for education. The parents and I hand-delivered a letter for Riley, Lucy and Teddy, all of whom are children with additional needs and autism who have no appropriate school place yet. They are the reality. The Minister of State is making empty promises. It is more empty promises. These school places are not a reality.

Riley's family received 13 different refusals from schools. He has been offered a place in a class but it is not what is needed. What he needs is a place in a special school. Lucy's parents received an offer contingent on the opening of the new autism class. I will refer to what Lucy's parents, Rachel and Aaron, said to me. They have asked me to refer to this. They said that, after a school place offer in March of this year, they were told it was subject to building works. In September, Lucy is still at home. There is no start date or interim plan and there has been no communication throughout the summer from the Department of education, the NCSE or the school. The building works are due to be completed in mid-October but still no start date has been confirmed. What is an absolute disgrace is that they have been asked to pay for photocopying and for arts and crafts supplies by the school despite the class not being open. Lucy's case is not an isolated one. There are many children across this country who do not have an appropriate school place. The Minister of State can say he is doing all he can but the reality is that he knew about this issue. He was part of the previous Government. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in government since the foundation of this State. Children with additional needs and children with disabilities have never been a priority.

They have never been invested in as they should be, namely as equal citizens of this country. They have a constitutional right to education. That constitutional right is being denied by the Government. As has also been pointed out, the Government is in breach of the law in relation to access to assessments of need. It is utterly unacceptable that this Government refuses to take responsibility for these children. We will continue to raise these cases and push the Government as hard as we can until children have the education-appropriate places that they deserve.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The right to education is a fundamental right for all children. It is enshrined in our Constitution and in international conventions. Many children with additional needs are denied that right today. There are still children awaiting school places for the 2025-26 school year. That is absolutely shameful. There are a further 168 children with allocated school places who cannot take them up because the facilities are not available. There are hundreds more children without appropriate school places who have to travel far away from their own localities and environment. I am aware of children who travel as far as 25 miles from their homes. This is absolutely unacceptable. I am also aware of schools that are ready, willing and able to establish special units but that have been rejected by the Department. Bansha National School in County Tipperary is a case in point. Children pass these schools on a daily basis on their way to designated schools located miles away.

These figures are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more children awaiting appropriate school places. They are placed in mainstream classes while awaiting special class places or they may be in special classes while awaiting special school places. Even when appropriate school places are allocated, school leaders and parents point to significant difficulties in schools, including in the context of the National Educational Psychological Service, the National Council for Special Education, special educational needs organisers and the allocation of special needs assistants. Furthermore, many families have had to take legal proceedings against the State in the courts in order to secure school places for their children. This heaps huge pressure on families that have had to fight every step of the way for everything for their children.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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September is a very exciting and important month for many children as they return to school. For some, however, the excitement has been unfairly and cruelly stripped away as their parents struggle to find appropriate school places for them in their localities. As a parent, I cannot imagine the heartbreak facing parents who are unable to secure such places for their children. The Minister for Education has declined to provide the exact number of children with additional needs awaiting school places for the academic year. This indicates that there are many parents who have sadly faced the heartbreak to which I refer this month. Over the summer, it was estimated that more than 400 children would be unable to start school properly this month. If that is the case, it is a disgrace. Shockingly, many of these children did not get an offer of an appropriate school place at all. Some received offers of places but they could not take them up due to essential building works being carried out. It is unacceptable that these building works in schools like Little Angels in Letterkenny have been delayed and that children's education has been delayed. I was delighted to see the school in question officially opened. The Minister of State had a hand in that, and well done to him. I hope no parent is obliged to endure the problem which the parents at this school had to endure.

I take this opportunity to ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to reconsider the proposal for redesignation of special needs schools for children who have mild general learning disabilities set out in Circular 0039/25 and actively engage with schools on the matter. The proposed reclassification of schools would result in many children being returned to mainstream education. Parents and teachers in Donegal have told me this would not be in the children's best interests. Mainstream schools do not have the resources necessary to provide the right environment for these children to thrive.

I call on the Government to support inclusive education in the upcoming budget, to introduce special needs co-ordinators in schools with three or more special education posts and to ensure that this role is recognised as a senior management position with a pay grade similar to that of a deputy principal. No child should be denied the opportunity to grow, thrive, learn and go to school.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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When is a school place not a school place? When it is a sanctioned school place. The verbal gymnastics the Government has been engaging in have been going on for a while, not just under the Minister of State's watch but under that of his predecessor. We have been asking for a long time for a figure in respect of the number of children who still do not have places. Now we want the figure for the number who were told they had school places but who do not have school places. I do not have time in my very brief slot here, but the children of the parents involved in Equality in Education and FUSS, who are campaigning and some of whom are in the Gallery, were awarded places but are not starting school. I will quickly read out the names of a few schools, namely Belmayne, St. Mochta's, Libermann, Corpus Christi, Lucan special school, Whitechurch school, St. Mary's boys' school, Finglas parochial, Holy Spirit boys' school in Ballymun, Killeshin in Laois, Holy Rosary Firhouse, St. Canice's boys' school, and Bayside. I want to add Danu special school, which the Minister of State has heard me harping on about an awful lot. Imagine that, for the second year in a row, there are children not going to school. Why did the Minister of State tell them they would have a building when they do not? There was no way there was going to be a building. They do not have a building for the second year in a row. The Minister of State visited months ago. The building is still not there. What a way to treat people.

Although I am running out of time, I want to mention school transport. The child of a woman in Tyrrelstown in my area was rejected by 21 schools but got a place in Dunboyne. There is absolutely no way to get from Tyrrelstown to Dunboyne. She was told that there was no school transport for her child. Another child was awarded a place in Baggot Street at the school for dyslexia. That child has no school transport either. Why are people not being given access to school transport?

Why was an autism conference for the whole of Europe that was held in Ireland and that was hosted by AsIAm opened by Deputy Norma Foley, who could not provide school places when she was Minister for Education and who is now Minister for children? It really was an insult for an awful lot of parents - they relayed this to me - that somebody who is causing problems for people with autism would open a conference on autism. The fee for an ordinary parent or family to attend that conference was €255. That was absolutely disgraceful.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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In the short time I have, I want to raise the issue of special school places in County Laois. The Saplings school in Graiguecullen had to move out of the building it was in. It is now located in the village of Killeshin in prefabs. The construction work started on a new school in March 2023, However, after ground works were carried out and the walls were built on the greenfield site at Fruithill, provided by Laois County Council, work stopped in late 2023. The school was told that work would resume but no details were given. Two years have passed. I am aware that funding for this project is not provided by the Department of Education, but it needs to be progressed. The funding was provided by the immigrant investor programme handled by the Department of Justice. This must be sorted out. That programme is now closed, but the Saplings school is only half built. The project needs to be got up and running again. The application was made in the pre-Covid years, so the building costs have escalated massively. That is the reality. As I understand it, €4 million was allocated by the Department of Justice. We have a big problem with funding, but the Department of Justice cannot fund it because the programme to which I refer is closed. It cannot be done through private donations because there is a gap of between €2.6 million and €3 million. The school, which has 30 special, high-dependency students, cannot raise in the region of €3 million. Those are the facts. Currently, the school is located in Killeshin village in prefabs. The principal's office is in an adjacent cloakroom in the local community hall. The site where the new school is to be built has bushes and weeds growing up around it. I ask the Minister of State and his officials to come back to me on this matter.

In the context of an issue I raised regarding St. Francis school, I acknowledge that the two modular classrooms are being provided. I acknowledge the Minister of State's work on that.

8 o’clock

I know I raised it with the Minister of State before and I acknowledge that, but the Saplings school, at the other end of county, needs help and I ask him to come back to me on it.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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What we have had tonight from the Government is a display of gaslighting par excellence. It is incredible and really cynical, because the audience is not the children who are affected. It is not the parents in the Gallery because the Minister of State knows they know that a school place does not necessarily equal a school place. The audience is the public who are concerned and think it is horrifying that there are children with additional needs who do not have appropriate school places. The message to them is not to worry, all bar a small handful of children in Dublin have been placed for this school year, when the truth is it appears the problem is even worse this year than last year. We had a motion in the Dáil this time last year, which referred to 120 children then without an appropriate school place. The Government is now saying all bar a small handful, but the Minister of State and everyone here knows that it is playing with words. Thanks to the amazing activist parents in the Equality in Education campaign we know that for 206 children, at least, being placed for this school year in reality means being offered a place that does not physically exist either because it has not been built yet or has not been staffed yet. The Minister of State had a great euphemism earlier talking about how for some children, there is a delay to the start of their school year due to construction work. A delay for some until November and for others until March or April. At what point does an education delayed equal an education denied for these children? On top of that, there are 96 children who have no offer whatsoever. Of them, 42 are at home with no home tuition and no preschool. We need an end to the spin. Give us the honest figures so we can see just how many children are left without appropriate places. The Government likes to say it is doing everything it can. The last issue I raised with the Taoiseach before the summer recess was this. He told me they were going to work might and main to make sure every child has an appropriate school place by September, but is that true? I am not talking about the personal effort of the Minister of State. I accept that. However, there are different decisions the Government could make. It could double capital funding for the school building programme. It could lift the ridiculous SNA cap and immediately begin a mass SNA recruitment campaign. It could fast-track training and upskilling of special education teachers. It could engage in a genuine way with the parents, who are telling us the true story from the ground and who are the real experts on this.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo agus roimh an iarracht rochtain a fháil ar oideachas le haghaidh gach uile pháiste sa tír. Is é an t-oideachas ceann de na cearta is tábhachtaí sa tír seo. One of the key objectives of the Proclamation of the Republic is to cherish all the children of the nation equally. An education is one of the most important rights that exist in society. Education facilitates the growth and development of children but it also helps them reach their full potential. Yet, we have a situation in this Republic where not all children have equal access to education. Not all children are treated equally, and indeed some children are being excluded from the education system. I stated in a contribution earlier that this is no country for young children and it is certainly not a country for many children with additional needs. Many children are being locked out of the education system and the figures the Government is giving us are not even specifying exactly how many children are actually in class at the moment. The figures we are getting are misleading. I read reports today that some principals are being told to accept children in their mainstream schools and they will get support in terms of SNAs, etc, down the track. Here we are in the third week of September and some of these children who are supposed to be in class have not seen the inside of a class yet. I am reading of another eight-year-old child who has never been to school. His mother has gone looking for a school in every single part of the county with no success. Shockingly, the State has no entity to even follow up why this child is not in school yet.

Aontú has asked questions repeatedly as to how many children have been suspended or expelled from school just because they have additional needs. In my town I have a constituent. He is in senior infants. He has been repeatedly suspended from school and is being threatened with expulsion. He is waiting for an assessment of needs. The schools simply cannot handle him. He has been left without a diagnosis and a treatment and is being deprived of the right to an education. He is just a small child and he is being excluded from school at this stage. I believe families are being broken by this Government. Many of them, especially those who have children with round-the-clock needs are being left abandoned. Many cannot get carer's allowance due to the high qualification threshold for assistance. They cannot get treatment or support for the children due to the lack of diagnosis and the waiting list for assessments of need. They cannot get respite and these parents are left so physically exhausted they are finding it hard even to struggle to ask for help. The figures included in this motion are shocking. There were 260 children as of June who did not have an offer of a school place. We know that due to building works in some areas, a further 168 children will in reality not have an offer of a classroom. We do not know the number of children whose parents are homeschooling them at the moment because of the lack of places that exist in schools. Figures we received also show there are 117 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 there has been a drop of 22% in the area of therapy in the last year. The HSE is the largest employer of CDNTs, but 44% of those staff places are vacant at the moment. Some 43% of all psychologist posts are currently vacant. In one CHO area it is incredibly 62%. Children are being radically failed by this Government. Even the most basic right, the right to education is being taken away from them and that has to change.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I am glad to be able to speak on this motion. Let me start by saying clearly that I welcome it. I welcome it because every child in this country has the right to an education. That right is not something that should be up for debate. It is in our Constitution. It is in international law, and it is in the heart of every parent who wants the best for their son or daughter. However, what we have seen from Government is delay, excuses and an attitude that parents should be grateful for whatever crumbs are thrown their way. I am telling the Minister of State now that parents are not grateful. Parents are angry, and rightly so. They should not have to drag the State through the courts just to get their child a school place. That is a disgrace. We were told in June that there were 260 children with additional needs who had no offer of a school place. Another 168 had an offer but could not take it up because the building work was not finished. What good is an offer on paper when the classroom does not exist? That is not education. That is the Government spin. What is worse is that we know these numbers do not tell the full story. They do not include the children being homeschooled because there is no proper place for them. They do not include the children travelling hours every day to access a school miles from their community. They do not include the children dumped into inappropriate settings waiting for special classes or a special school. This is the hidden crisis, and it has been ignored for far too long.

This motion calls for the publication of county by county figures, and that is right because we need transparency. However, the Minister of State should not need to be dragged into publishing this. Parents deserve honesty upfront. If you cannot even tell families the truth about the numbers, how can you ever solve the problem? The motion also calls for a task force to deliver school buildings. That sounds good but let us not kid ourselves. We have seen task forces come and go. Parents do not want more committees and reviews. They want bricks and mortar. They want schools delivered on time. They want classrooms ready for their children when September comes, not promises that fall flat by Christmas. There is then the NCSE and the SENOs. The reality on the ground is that too many parents and teachers find them unhelpful and sometimes even obstructive. Families are sick of battling bureaucracy. They want support and not red tape. A review might help but only if it actually changes the culture from blocking to supporting.

Independent Ireland has been clear about where it stands. We more SNAs. We want smaller class sizes. We want schools given the resources upfront so they can actually meet the needs of children instead of begging for crumbs from the Department. We have said time and again that principals and teachers know their pupils best. They know better than an official in an office who never set foot in the classroom. That is why we support a needs-based model that puts trust back into the hands of school and parents. Let us not forget transport. For far too many families, the school places they fought tooth and nail to secure are miles away. Children with additional needs are being forced into punishing daily journeys. That is not fair on the child. It is not fair on the family, and it is something Independent Ireland has called out. We need a proper transport service so that no child is left exhausted before they even step into the classroom. We have that situation. I know the situation from Coomhola, Bantry, down into Schull was resolved, but that took nearly two years. There were exhaustive efforts by some parents out there, which was very unfair.

We also had the situation of the Ballinadee bus, which I think may be resolved tomorrow, but there are problems and a crisis. I know this is a slightly different issue than the transport service for schoolchildren, but it is connected in its own right. I refer to the right for children to get to school in Kilcoe and Ballinadee. We have a fight to get just the basic rights. They had a bus last year, but they are not going to have it this year. I am astonished by how this can happen without some kind of an explanation to parents out there, and they deserve that right, surely be to God. People have to go to work. This is a tough country to make a living in and the parents of Ballinadee and Kilcoe have been terribly wronged.

The over-70s issue is something the Minister of State really needs to sit up and look at to understand that drivers aged over 70 are well capable of driving and taking children to school. I have much more to say on this issue, but I will stop because my time is up.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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I have just spent two long days at the ploughing championships with Independent Ireland. We have had people of all ages and from all walks of life with different problems coming into the tent to talk to us about concerns they have and looking for support. We had people with children with special needs come into us and ask us what had gone wrong and what they could do to help. Why are the resources not being put in place? Why are the Departments with responsibility for disabilities, education and health not talking to one another to see how they can sort problems? People said that if they wanted something, they went to one Department, which would then ask them to go to another Department to get assessments to try to get places for children. If they got the assessments done, they were told that the Department was sorry, but it had no place for them.

With the Minister of State's own family background, I know that he is the right person for the job. I know he understands the concerns. Knowing all this, I need him to kick for touch and make sure that a difference is made and these three Departments talk to one another so that we deliver for people in Ireland and ensure that the most vulnerable have an equal opportunity to education as their siblings, neighbours or friends.

This Sunday - I hope to see the Minister of State there - there will be a fundraiser for Holy Family Special School in Charleville. The Minister of State knows that, being from that area himself. There is a fundraiser going on for a school that looks after special needs in Charleville, County Cork, in the Minister of State's constituency. It is based behind St. Joseph's Foundation, which is another fantastic organisation that looks after children and adults with special needs. The school has to go out and fundraise for additional resources, and it has come to me. There is a motorbike run on, and I am going to have to try to stay on the motorbike to help the school raise money and raise awareness. I have no problem doing that. Last Sunday, I was in Meanus in County Limerick with Greybridge Classic Club raising funds, again, for this same school in County Cork because we had people from the area who wanted support. These people are asking the people of Ireland, through our vintage clubs, motorcycle clubs and whatever means they can, to fundraise for children with special needs to help them get an education the same as their siblings and friends'. They have got to do that, which we have no problem helping. There is a massive shortage of funding.

I said this at the start, and I say it with all sincerity: I believe the Minister of State is the right person for the job, and I look forward to working with him. I look forward to pushing the boundaries within his Department and the Departments of education and health to make sure we can deliver for those children equal opportunities to equal education and also support the families that have been trying to home school to give their children what they need and help them.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank Sinn Féin for this opportunity to talk again about this very important topic. Many parents face a challenge when they find out that their children have special needs. It is another challenge or big burden on many of them to ensure their children get a proper education. We know that every child has a right to education, and it is not fair that children with special needs are not always given the same opportunities that they rightly deserve. Concerned parents often contact me distressed that their children are unable to secure places in special education classes or that there are no special needs teachers in their schools. Too often, they have to fight for primary school education and special needs teachers, and when they then move on to post-primary school - I raised this before - they have to do it all again. Surely, they should be on the system and not have to replicate their efforts again. When a student is diagnosed, supports should follow through from primary to post-primary education automatically. The parents should not have to fight for this again. Every child has a right to education.

Another problem arises in that the Department says that it has X number of SNA places and that the country is covered. In many cases, however, this is not so. In very rural places, there is an awful distance between different schools. A school with an SNA for a child 7 or 8 miles away is no good if there is no transport, which often happens. We need to ensure that these SNAs are placed locally where the children are. They are entitled to receive support locally.

Many children with complex needs are still without necessary school places and parents all over the country are worn out from fighting for school places for their children. They should not have to fight for the basic right to education. Many schools have issues with funding in order to open new special classes because there is a shortage of space to expand. They do not have the room, staffing or resources. Many rural schools do not have the necessary facilities for additional sensory spaces, which many of them require and would benefit from. It is not fair that schools are not provided with the necessary funding to cater for special education classes.

There continues to be a lengthy delay with assessments, and probably the worst part of the whole thing is that children are not assessed in time. They have to be assessed. The sooner they are assessed, the sooner the matter can get resolved. Many parents wait for years for an assessment in the public system and often have to resort to paying for a private assessment for their children. This is only the first step for them. What about the families who cannot afford to go private? These assessments should be carried out as early as possible, and more therapists are needed in this area to avoid delays with diagnoses, which impacts the child's education.

It seems to me that autism and many of these complex needs are on the increase. We need to do more to find out what is causing it and if there is a reason. It seems to me that many more are presenting than in my younger days. Even when I was going to school, it did not seem to be an issue at all at that time. There were very few anyway. I am wondering what it is, and I have asked this question here before in different debates. Is there something causing it? Is it lack of some vitamins or what is it? We need to address that part of it as well because there could be something that is causing it.

Special education is the most important thing tonight, but I have heard other Deputies raising other issues. I have been making a request for many years to look at the issue of drivers who are being disallowed - only by Bus Éireann, or CIÉ - from driving a school bus once they are past 70 years of age. They are able to drive it in every other context. They can take the children to football matches and drive it for the local rural transport, but they cannot bring children to school.

I have seen many a good driver park up for the last time when they reach the age of 70 because they are no longer wanted. It is ageist because people are living longer and are active for longer. If Bus Éireann wanted, these people would undergo another medical rather than having one a year. It could be an independent medical test that people agree to undergo. It would be of benefit because many men and women are able to drive, but the Bus Éireann or CIÉ school bus section is stopping them from doing so. I cannot understand it. I ask the Minister to address this.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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Tá áthas orm labhairt ar an rún seo anocht. Beidh mé ag tacú leis an rún, a bhaineann le hoideachas speisialta. I will support the motion, in particular the call to establish a timebound school building delivery task force with a mandate to ensure the quick and priority delivery of special schools and classes. This is an aspect of the school accommodation crisis more generally, on which I have repeatedly focused over the years. I have raised the issue a number of times here.

I have, of course, raised the issue with the Minister and Department of Education and Youth's planning and building unit during sessions of the Committee on further and higher education. There is another issue affecting many schools, namely, the lack of communication from the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, with school principals. That was flagged to me by school principals. They are told to open a special class, but there is very little communication in terms of getting prepared for that and having resources in place. I call for such communication to be improved.

I recently submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister requesting a list of the 45 special schools to be included in the new national therapy programme. Astonishingly, I received no clarity or information. All I was told was that the new education therapy service would commence in some special schools at a later stage in the 2025-26 school year and that the schools selected for inclusion in the initial phase will be informed by engagement with colleagues in the HSE and the National Council for Special Education. The response went on to state that it is anticipated that the school selection for the initial phase will be complete in the early 2025-26 school year and that schools will have the opportunity to engage with the education therapy service. This is unacceptable because there is a vacuum.

The Minster recently visited Offaly School of Special Education, for which we are very grateful, and saw first-hand how the staff are doing their very best. There are excellent staff in school, but they need to be part of the education therapy support service. I hope that will happen and schools will be given clarity as soon as possible.

I refer to children who are waiting for assessments for a long period of time. I had a case on my desk recently concerning someone who was told it would take two years for an assessment. Parents are forced to pay privately for these assessments and it is very difficult for parents in the current climate where the cost of living is constantly rising. Anything that could be done in that regard will be greatly appreciated.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am happy to provide a response from my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Helen McEntee, and to contribute on behalf of the Government to the debate on special education.

As a public representative, I meet many parents of children with additional needs who experience huge challenges in securing appropriate places for their children. They should not have to deal with that level of additional stress in their lives. We need to do more and do better to ensure families have much earlier clarity on school places in their local areas. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, has been very clear that this is his number one priority as Minister for special education and inclusion. It is also a key priority for the Minister, Deputy McEntee. Like so many others, I look forward to seeing the progress being made by the Department of Education and Youth and NCSE in working towards delivering new special classes and special school places for the next school year, that is, 2026-27, and having that confirmed by the end of this calendar year. It will be welcome to have clarity much earlier on.

As a Dublin-based TD, I welcome the provision of the 103 new special classes across schools in Dublin this year. That brings the overall number of special classes to 705. I also welcome the significant increase in the provision of special school places for Dublin in this school year. I look forward to the new Lucan Community Special School opening for 30 students in the next month.

I welcome the focus of Department and NCSE on those remaining medium and larger primary and post-primary schools with no or just one special class opening new special classes for the next school year. It is important that all schools play their part when it comes to opening new special classes and that it is not left to some schools to open multiple special classes. We need a geographic spread.

While the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, focused on the issue of special classes and school places in his contribution, I will speak to some of the other issues relating to the provision of special education. Ensuring strong delivery of additional school accommodation for special education is a key priority for the Government. In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.556 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030 under the new national development plan. As part of this NDP allocation, the Department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. We know it is a problem every year.

The Department is preparing an NDP plan which is due for publication later in the autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the national development plan allocation, with a strong focus on maximising school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is deemed insufficient, and ensuring that what is provided is affordable, provides value for money and meets the functional needs of our children and society.

As Deputies, we constantly hear of the challenges faced by families who have received multiple refusal letters as they apply for admission to special classes or schools for a child with additional needs. We need to make the admissions process much simpler and fairer for families. The earlier confirmation of new special class and school provision will be a key element of this. The Government is committed to introducing a common application procedure for school admissions, and I am happy that the new pilot facilitating a single online application for schools is progressing well.

Families who need a special class place or mainstream place at post-primary level for the next school year, 2026-27, in Athenry, Celbridge, Clonakilty, Greystones, Tullamore and Killina will be able to apply online using a single application form as part of a pilot project to streamline the admissions process. This pilot is a first step towards a national common application system. It will be a game-changer for families, especially those who have children with special educational needs. A separate trial across primary schools, supported by the NCSE, is happening in Dublin 15 for admission to special classes and is continuing for the next school year. I understand more schools have now joined the pilot. I encourage all schools in Dublin 15 with special classes to join the pilot.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, are very keen to see the additional funding and staffing allocated to the NCSE result in improved support for parents and schools at local level. Following the provision of an additional €30 million in 2023, the expansion of the service in the NCSE has undergone transformational change. This commenced with a workforce planning study which examined the various roles and responsibilities in the organisation. Based on this, the NCSE carried out structural changes, including an increase, from 73 to 120, in the number of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, recruited by the NCSE. They are now operating on a county basis, which has allowed for an integrated community-based service conducive to the development of key relationships between NCSE staff, parents and schools when it comes to the provision of services for children and students.

I am really happy to see that there are 27 SENOs and 14 managers working across Dublin to support parents and schools. The sole role of special education teachers and special needs assistants allocated to schools is to support students with special educational needs. For the start of this school year, close to 21,000 special education teachers and over 23,000 SNAs have been allocated to our schools. This represents a 23% increase in special education teacher numbers and a 43% increase in SNA numbers since 2020. Some 15,000 of these special education teachers work to support students attending mainstream classes. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, are committed to securing additional funding for further teacher and SNA supports for students in the upcoming budget.

One programme and support much welcomed by the parents of children with complex special education needs is the summer programme. I am happy to report this important programme continued to expand, with a 52% increase in school participation since 2022. Over 1,900 schools took part in the programme this summer. I was delighted to visit one in my local area and see the fantastic work being done with children. A number of these initiatives, funding measures and supports are ensuring the continued growth and expansion of this programme. For example, the hot school meals programme, which was introduced this year, supports schools running the summer programme.

One of the most eagerly anticipated developments in the area of special education is the plan to develop a new education therapy service for schools. Many Deputies referred to it today. The new service being developed by the Department of education and the NCSE will commence in special schools and will subsequently extend to schools with special classes and mainstream provision. It is intended this new service will be rolled out on a phased basis in some special schools at a later stage in this 2025-2026 school year, with a wider roll-out for the next school of 2026-2027. It is expected that the recruitment of therapists for this service will be initiated in the coming months of quarter four of this year. I know this new service when introduced will have the potential to have a really positive impact on the lives of children and young people with special educational needs and their families. I look forward to tracking the progress being made in the development of this important new service.

In conclusion, while I fully appreciate the valid frustrations outlined here, I do not believe the motion from the Opposition takes account of the progress made to date and the ongoing commitment of the Department of education and the NCSE, which are working with schools to deliver an education system of the highest quality, one where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, provided a detailed update in his contribution on the special education places for this school year and the work under way in terms of forward planning for the next school year also.

We have so much work to do to address the challenges facing the parents of children with additional needs and those children themselves. I think the earlier confirmation of new special classes and special schools will be key to ensuring that parents of children with additional needs can expect to have clarity when it comes to school places at the same time as parents of children attending mainstream schools. All of us in this Chamber will be monitoring the progress being made on the common application trial and the development of the new education therapy service. I ask Members to continue to monitor this and to continue to look at and advocate for this issue, as so many people did here so passionately tonight. I ask the House to support the Government's countermotion.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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It is clear to anyone paying attention that we have a serious capacity issue when it comes to providing school places for children with special needs. Every child is entitled to the best quality education the State can provide, and this means schooling that meets their needs and is based in their own community. Yet parents in my constituency of Clare are having to place their children on buses or face commutes to bring their children to a school - one the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, visited himself - that meets their needs in Ennis.

Some parents simply cannot find places for their children with special needs in their own community or even transport to bring them to those schools. This is a failure for these children and their families. The Education Act 1998 states it is a function of the Minister:

to ensure, subject to the provisions of this Act, that there is made available to each person resident in the State, including a person with a disability or who has other special educational needs, support services and a level and quality of education appropriate to meeting the needs and abilities of that person...

Families are struggling to try to access facilities and services for their children. They too are being let down by the Government. It is shocking that the Minister is unable to state how many children still lack the special education places they require. We are working off estimates showing it is approximately 260 children. However, as the Equality in Education campaign was able to find an additional 168 children, the actual number may even be higher again.

These children get one childhood. As these are their formative years, denying them the chance to thrive to their full potential is scandalous. In many cases, they also have to see their siblings having the opportunity to learn, socialise and thrive that they are denied on the basis that they have special needs the Government is failing to provide for. Alternatively, if given a place, they could be shoved into a cubbyhole. In addition to the urgent need for the Government to provide funding and resources immediately, it must also future-proof the services so we do not end up here again.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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Fine Gael has been 14 years in power and Fianna Fáil has been ten years in power and yet they are still talking about forward planning. It is absolutely ridiculous. Every single child has a right to an education. It is not provided to all children because some are denied that right. Parents are forced to campaign, to protest and to demand and to share their stories. They were again promised this year that no child would be left behind. Well, it is untrue because we know children are being left. We just do not know the exact number, and this tells a story in itself. What is more frustrating and causing deep anger is that many parents were informed their child had secured a place, only to find out there were no rooms in the schools. Danu special school only recently had its classrooms delivered, in the past few weeks. This is a year and a half since those children and the school were told they would have new additional places.

Why did it take a year and a half for this to happen after they were told they were getting places? We still do not know the answers to why this was the case. Is a year and a half really forward planning? One parent who got a school place then lost their school transport. Why was this? It was because the existing transport was too expensive, so the Department cancelled it. That is grand. It was too expensive. Bizarrely and disgracefully, though, it cancelled the contract and now cannot secure another alternative, leaving that child at home. How ridiculous is that? Can the Minister of State find out who made this decision and ask them why they cancelled the bus contract without an alternative? I ask this because that child is now at home.

Lastly, the report of the task force in Dublin referred to by the Minister of State to support the forward planning provision was submitted to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, on 1 July 2025. When will those who put the huge amount of time, effort and work into it see it published?

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Every year, families do not fight for a favour, they fight for a basic right: the right to a school place or a school bus for their children with additional needs. This is not a one-off problem. It is one that circles back year after year, with no lessons having been learned from the previous year. In too many communities, children with additional needs cannot even access education in their local schools. Places are not there where they live, so they are pushed to attend distant schools. Even then, a place is not guaranteed. It is as if education has become a lottery. I spoke to a parent in County Meath who told me their child endures a three-hour round trip every day just to get to a school that should be within reach. This shapes a child's life and often hinders his or her ability to integrate into their local communities. Parents of children with additional needs are worn out. If they are not fighting for a school place, they are fighting for a seat on a bus or an SNA. It is a constant battle after battle that many families face and solutions seem out of reach.

This year, many children with additional needs have got tickets for school transport, while parents are then told at the last minute that no bus operator has been hired to do that school run. What needs to be looked at is why operators are not tendering for these school runs or why the process cannot begin sooner. This Government has led to too many of these children being denied the education they deserve. By allowing these gaps to persist, the State is effectively denying children access to education, thereby violating their rights. We demand a clear, funded plan to guarantee sufficient school places for children with additional needs within their local communities. There should be no more endless reshuffles, no more arbitrary delays. We demand reliable transport and support services, with transparent communication between transport providers, schools and families. Education for children with additional needs is non-negotiable. Every child deserves parity of access and quality of school provision. These parents and children deserve more than excuses. Every child with additional needs must be able to access a suitable school place and reliable transport without fear of another unnecessary battle in the future.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Government is denying the constitutional right to an education to many children with special needs. One of those children is a gorgeous young boy from Monaghan called Sonny McElvaney. Sonny has made developmental progress beyond what was ever envisaged, primarily because of the efforts of parents. He should have started school a couple of weeks ago. However, Sonny needs a full-time SNA and one has not been allocated. The school that he attends already has one SNA but also has another student who needs a full-time allocation. Sonny's mother started engaging with the NCSE last November. No parent wants to acknowledge that their child needs full-time, one-on-one care. In this case, however, it is clear-cut. The occupational therapist that Sonny has dealt with has stated it. The school that he is to attend has stated it. The preschool where Sonny had a full-time SNA has stated it. All the reports from every professional who has ever met Sonny state that he cannot attend school without a full-time SNA.

If this case is anything to go by, the NCSE is dysfunctional. I have been engaging with it directly on this case since June. This morning, for the third time, I received a response which states that schools are expected to redeploy their current SNA allocation to students with the greatest level of need. In other words, for Sonny to get his entitlement, another child has to be denied theirs. That is scandalous. That is what is happening under the NCSE.

What the Minister of State read out tonight is essentially a speech that has been delivered by the NCSE, the very institution that is failing these children. It is failing to recognise what every other person who is dealing with these children recognises, namely that they need support. Those schools are ready to welcome children like Sonny but they need the Minister of State to grab the NCSE by the scruff of the neck and ensure that these children, who are being failed by it and by the Minister of State, get what they are entitled to.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I want to start my concluding remarks by saying that some of the utterances from Deputy Danny Healy-Rae were ignorant, ill-informed, insensitive, offensive and disgusting. He should withdraw them. They represent the height of ignorance.

The debate, otherwise, was important. It is incredibly frustrating. I say that on my behalf and on behalf of anyone with an interest in this matter. The term "gaslighting" was used. The Minister of State is taking people for fools. He and the senior Minister continually refusing to answer basic questions or provide information that we know they have is deliberate. This undermines the Minister's bona fides in relation to his job.

I ask the Minister of State to withdraw the amendment and look at what we are asking him to do. In every measure that we are calling for, we are asking the Government to leverage the energy of parents and school leaders to deliver solutions and appropriate school places for every child. The bureaucratic barriers that are being put up time and again should be done away with and the energy of parents who are fighting for their children and who are absolutely to be admired should be leveraged.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I mentioned FUSS Ireland and the Equality in Education group, but across the length and breadth of this State, parents are fighting for their children. That should be leveraged. The Minister of State should work with them and deliver for them.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I cannot address what Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said, but Deputy O'Rourke is free to write to me. We can put the matter to the Deputy that way.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I will, thanks.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy is not present.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until next week's division time.