Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I mean this with the greatest of respect to the Minister of State, but this is the fourth Topical Issue raised with no relevant line Minister or Minister of State here to debate it and to engage in the conversation on it. I am not directing this at the Minister of State. He is here and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to him about this issue, but I cannot expect he will know anything about this specific issue, given his brief. I ask him to take that back to the Chief Whip. It is disrespectful at best to colleagues right across the House that we are not being given the opportunity to raise these issues directly with line Ministers. At half ten on a Tuesday night, there is no prior commitment clashing with this. Whether I am sitting in the Chair or sitting through Topical Issue sessions right throughout the year, we are seeing that it is very rare that a line Minister is here to answer questions and engage in a constructive debate about issues. Again, I emphasise that that is not directed at the Minister of State personally. I am grateful that he is here to take this.

The Minister of State might be aware that north Kildare, and indeed the county of Kildare, has experienced a doubling of the population since 1991. We are now over 220,000 people in the county, from pretty much just over 100,000 in the early 1990s. That is significant growth, and the manifestation of that growth, how it impacts our communities, is very positive in most ways. We have a very vibrant county, a wonderful county to live in and to grow up in, but it does not mean we are immune from any of the consequences of that. That manifests itself in service provision, including GP services and public transport services, but specifically school services and education. Certainly, in communities like Leixlip, Maynooth and Celbridge, where the population has increased greatly, we have not seen the services keep pace with that at all.

I will raise the issue of one school in particular with the Minister of State, if I may, and that is Scoil Mochua in Celbridge, a school of nearly 40 years and of 700 children, who have just gone through an evaluation process with the NCSE. The NCSE has told the school that three SNAs for 700 children is adequate. I do not know the Minister of State's situation. I have three children who have all gone through primary school education. My wife is an SE teacher. I have good insight into what should be provided, and one SNA for 220 children is simply not adequate. I have spoken to the principal today and spoken to many parents on this issue. Frustration does not even begin to describe how they feel. When I get to come back in, I will be able to speak to the Minister of State a little more about expansion at Scoil Mochua. The school has worked with Kildare County Council. Land is available. Short-term, rooms are also available to address this. However, the NCSE has been told that the Minister has met the targets so it will not do any more. We have probably the only school in Ireland that wants to open these classes and it is being told "No". We have planning problems. Tailte Éireann has said it cannot accept a deed of waiver for any land beside the school. The school has been maintaining land for 40 years but it is at a complete juncture. It cannot go any further with it.

There are two clear asks on which I will come back to the Minister of State with regard to follow-up from this. The first was just the opportunity to raise the problem: 700 children and three SNAs. I think he will agree with me there is something wrong there. Can he instruct the NCSE to evaluate this school again? The second thing is that we need a meeting between Tailte Éireann, the school community, the Minister or representatives from the Department, and Kildare County Council to move this forward in the long term. We have opportunities for three more special classes. That would meet the needs of 18 children, but we need to get through the problem with planning first.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this important matter. I take his point. I was a backbencher too so I understand the frustration when you put in a Topical Issue and the relevant Minister or Minister of State is not present. I will relay that back to the Chief Whip.

The Government is very much committed to supporting children with additional needs to reach their full potential, and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.

On the ground, an important way to support children with additional needs in our schools is the provision of SNAs. They play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in our schools. SNAs help to ensure that students can access an education and enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

As the Deputy is aware, the NCSE has full responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children with additional needs.

The number of SNAs available for allocation has continued to increase annually, resulting in a significant increase in the number of SNAs employed by schools. Budget 2025 provided for 1,600 SNAs, the largest number ever allocated. This means that, by the end of the year, there will be over 23,000 SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with additional needs. The NCSE manages the allocation of the SNAs to schools and it is the responsibility of the NCSE to ensure that these resources are allocated to the children with the greatest level of need. The NCSE advised each school in June of its allocation for the 2025-26 school year. Each year, schools are advised of their SNA supports, which indicates that the NCSE will undertake reviews to ensure that SNAs are allocated to the children with the greatest level of need. Such reviews can see an increased or reduced level of support or no change in allocation. This has always been part of the work of the NCSE and is necessary to ensure that resources are allocated in line with the level of need.

The NCSE has advised that Scoil Mochua applied for an SNA allocation review during the last school year. A review of the care needs was completed and the school was advised that there was no change to its current allocation. The school has reapplied to the NCSE for an SNA allocation review and this is progressing. The Minister cannot prejudge the outcome of this review. The NCSE has confirmed to the Department of Education and Youth that it will advise the school of the outcome of the review as a priority. Where additional SNA resources are necessary to support the needs of students in the school, they will be provided, as has been done in previous years.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate the update with regard to the review by the NCSE and that it is being taken as a priority. We will feed that back to the school immediately. It has potential but the worry is the criteria for the review. We do not know what the criteria are and if the same criteria are maintained from the first review, it would be unreasonable to expect any change. There are 48 children documented for this review in a population of 700 children. We are told these children would not go to school without their SNAs, with whom they have a relationship. They have highly complex medical, emotional and developmental needs. Simply put, three SNAs in that school is not enough. I ask the Minister of State again to appeal to the Minister. I would appreciate it.

Will the Minister of State highlight the following complex issue to the Minister? Kildare County Council has come to a dead end. This parcel of land right beside Scoil Mochua is the perfect location. Nobody owns it. It is beside a housing estate that was finished decades ago and it has it in writing that the developer does not see itself as owning that land. The developer has divested itself of ownership of that land, yet the council cannot take it in charge because Tailte Éireann no longer accepts a deed of waiver, which is where an owner divests. Instead, it needs to be 40 years of adverse possession. The school maintains it has had possession of this land for so long but in order to build, it will need agreement from Tailte Éireann. I ask the Minister of State to bring this to the Minister. Kildare County Council has done what it can. The school community has done what it can. The State needs to step in radically in order for those 18 children in three special classes to get the service they need in an expanding population in north Kildare. I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter with the Minister of State. The follow-up will be really appreciated.

Deputy Alan Dillon: I thank the Deputy for articulating the case for Scoil Mochua and the challenges it faces. It is no different than anyt other consistueucny. Indeed, I have faced many challenges regarding families and children deserving and demand access to resources. There is a challenging environemnt. I acknolwedge the particular circustamnces the Deputy mentioned. When one engages with the nCSE, it is responsive. It is being considered as part of the review process. On Tailte Éireann, I will work with the Deputy on how to engage with the Minister of State for local government and planning to see what solution can be provdied regarding the oppolrtunity for the school and for many families with chidlren with additional needs. Tailte Éireann falls under that remind int he Department of housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will work with him in that ergard. On the Department of Education's commiment, the Minister and MInister of State are focused on trying to build capacity in the special education sector. that inmvolves working with the NCSE and teh SENOs on the ground to allocate resources as best we can

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for articulating the case for Scoil Mochua and the challenges it faces. It is no different than any other constituency. Indeed, I have faced many challenges regarding families and children deserving and demanding access to resources. There is a challenging environment. I acknowledge the particular circumstances the Deputy mentioned. When one engages with the NCSE, it is responsive. It is being considered as part of the review process.

On Tailte Éireann, I will work with the Deputy on how we can engage with the Minister of State for local government and planning - Tailte Éireann falls under that remit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - to see what solution can be provided regarding that opportunity for the school and for many families with children with additional needs.

On the Department of education's commitment, the Minister and Minister of State are focused on trying to build capacity in the special education sector. That involves working with the NCSE and SENOs on the ground to allocate resources as best we can. On the ratio of three SNAs to 700 pupils, as part of the overall allocation and review, school management has its part to play in engaging with the SENO and the NCSE.