Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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The education of children with special needs is one of the most frustrating and distressing situations for parents in County Kerry. They look on and see potential and achievable progress denied. As one mother said to me, the early years system is broken and the lack of appropriate services will have lifelong impacts on her son. Everywhere we turn we see that services have huge waiting lists, a shortage of staff and a lack of resources. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Healy-Rae brothers are continuing to stand over a system that is broken. Children are being denied their basic right to an education and far too many of them are in Kerry. Specifically, I want to raise the issue of early intervention for preschool children with autism who should get a support teacher and an SNA. Despite four Government-supporting TDs representing the county, I recently learned through a reply to a parliamentary question that Kerry has one of the lowest numbers of early-intervention classes in the Twenty-six Counties. When one adjusts for population size, the outlook is even more bleak. There are just two classes available in the whole of the county and a total of six places for children in the whole year. However, because many children stay on for a second year, the actual number of new spaces is just three or four. In a county with a population of 160,000, this beggars belief. While the situation is dire the length and breadth of the country, there is no doubt that Kerry has been left behind. The Minister of State's own county of Cork has 22 classes. Mallow alone has three early-intervention classes. Tipperary and Wexford have ten and 12 classes, respectively, with equivalent populations while Offaly, whose population is half that of Kerry, has nine classes. To add insult to injury, there are schools with the space and resources available to establish new classes but the Department of education has repeatedly ignored pleas from parents to give their children access to the education they deserve.

I was contacted recently by the parent of a child who is being denied access to the education that he deserves. Despite his profound needs, and the recommendation from a SENO for a special class placement, there is no place in an early-intervention class available to him in the county. His mother tells me that it was proposed to open a third early-intervention class in Kerry in a school in Killarney. The school stepped forward to open it. She was told by the principal that the school had the necessary space, staff and support but the Government refused to sanction it. This is an indictment of the continued failure of the Government to keep its word.

If one compares these statistics with some of the ministerial replies that are on record, a different picture is painted. On 16 October, I received a reply to a parliamentary question that said that early-intervention classes are available in mainstream and special school settings for children aged three to five years with a diagnosis of autism. Does anybody believe that is the case? The Kerry TD and Minister Deputy Normal Foley said in response to a parliamentary question that the Government recognises the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and ensuring they receive the right services at the right time. She went on to say that under the programme for Government, she and the Government were committed to ensuring that children and families who need early intervention and therapy can access that in a timely way. The key vehicle for change, according to the Minister, is the roadmap for service improvement for disability services.

However, considering that this roadmap was supposedly to be implemented by 2026, does the Minister really believe the three to four places available for that school year are being delivered? It sounds more like lip service.

Research clearly demonstrates that early intervention vastly improves outcomes for children and can negate the need for a special education placement down the line. Ignoring these children until they reach school age is short-sighted and will exacerbate what is already a serious crisis. Will the Government prepare now to ensure extra spaces are available in classes for students in Kerry?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Daly for raising this very important matter. As somebody who was involved with the Cope Foundation in Cork, now Horizons, I recognise the huge work being done in special education and for those with disabilities in Kerry. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth.

The Government is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with additional needs. The Deputy is right that there is huge frustration and stress being felt by parents, and that should not be the case. As I said earlier, as a former teacher I recognise that early intervention is critical and early years provision is so important to young children, particularly those with additional needs. There are 160 early intervention classes nationwide, the vast majority of which are for children with a diagnosis of autism. Many of the early intervention classes sanctioned to date have been reclassified as the children enrolled reach primary level age. This allows the children to remain in the class at the school they attended for early intervention. However, this it is not always the case, with many classes enrolling a new cohort of children yearly.

As the Deputy knows, budget 2026 secured funding for 3,000 new specialist places. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is currently examining where these places would be best located for the 2026-27 school year. More than 400 new special classes were provided for the 2025-26 school year, meaning there are now 3,741 special classes nationwide. The Government is committed to building on this figure next year, placing provision in locations where it is best placed to meet existing and future demand.

In County Kerry, which Deputy Daly represents and has referenced, 114 special classes are now in operation, providing capacity for up to 864 students. That provision includes 25 new special classes for this school year. In total, the number of special classes in County Kerry has almost doubled since 2020. Two of these classes are early intervention classes. Where the NCSE identifies need for an early intervention class, the class is sanctioned and supports are provided by the Department to ensure the school identified can accommodate the class. These classes are available in mainstream and special school settings for children aged between three and five with a diagnosis of autism. There is also a small number of classes dedicated to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The classes are intended to provide early support to children with the most complex of needs before they start school and can aid their transition to junior infants.

Looking ahead to the 2026-27 school year, the NCSE will have a clear picture of local demand for special class places after it reviews and assesses all the information provided through the parents' notification process, which, as Members know, closed on 1 October. The NCSE will then engage directly with school boards of management in relation to the opening of new special classes, including early intervention classes. I assure the House that the Department, the Minister, the Minister of State and the NCSE are committed to ensuring sufficient special education placements remain available for all children with additional needs.

It is Important to note that within the early years sector, the access and inclusion model, AIM, under the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, continues to support a growing number of young children with additional needs. AIM provides a tiered system of support, including extra staffing for early years providers, and, importantly, it does not require a formal diagnosis for access. There has been a significant increase in resources and supports provided to children with additional needs accessing the AIM programme over recent years.

I will convey the matters the Deputy raised, particularly the parliamentary question he referenced, to the Minister. To be fair, there has been significant investment in special education. However, I accept there is frustration and concern on the part of parents, which should not be the case.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I appreciate that he is only standing in for his ministerial colleague. He said there has been significant investment but we are just not seeing that locally in Kerry, which has one of the lowest numbers of early intervention classes in the State. An early intervention class includes a qualified primary school teacher and SNAs teaching the children. As one mother said to me, this setting of targeted and specific expertise can be life-changing for children. This is why there is frustration for parents. They are hearing about all the great investment that is coming but they are not seeing the progress in their community, particularly, it seems, in County Kerry.

When the Government has failed to deliver early intervention classes, as a backup or plan B or C, some parents have been offered AIM support. Many of them consider that provision unsatisfactory because they then have to source some home support. Even then, there are delays in getting the home support registered with and approved by the Teaching Council. Unfortunately, that system is not as speedy as it should be. While the AIM staff are qualified childcare workers, they have had no training in special education provision. Most of the time, according to a mother I spoke to, the children are left to their own devices.

The educational tasks taking place in mainstream classes have little to no relevance to children with autism. They need the practical life skills and educational tasks that take place in early intervention settings, which will scaffold and support the children to sit and attend to a simple task, such as washing their hands unaided. The work that takes place in early intervention is child-led and is a million miles away from the mainstream preschool setting. Is what they are currently being provided with an appropriate education? Their parents say it is not because AIM is not monitored and they feel their children are missing out. It is a plan B but it is not working.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I acknowledge the concerns he has articulated on behalf of the children and parents concerned. I want to make it clear that the Government, the Department, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, working with the NCSE, have committed to ensuring all children can access an education suitable to their needs. AIM is about ensuring accession and inclusion and it is disturbing to hear the Deputy's remarks regarding the testimony of parents and children.

The Department of Education and Youth will continue to engage extensively and intensively with the NCSE in regard to the forward planning for new school provisions to ensure every child, including children in Kerry, have a place in an education setting that best fits their educational need. It is important that we do this with a focus on the policy of having an inclusive education model that promotes that children will be supported to receive an education that is in the most inclusive and appropriate setting possible. That is why there has been a significant increase in recent years in resources and supports provided to children with additional needs accessing the AIM programme.

Where demand is identified for early intervention classes, they will be sanctioned by the NCSE and established in the relevant schools. The NCSE continues to examine the information gathered through the parents' notification system and to match that demand to appropriate schools in local areas. It is envisaged that the location of the majority of special classes, including early intervention classes, will be sanctioned by December this year, which is four months earlier than in previous years. Parents, therefore, will be able to apply for specialist places much earlier than in previous years.

The Minister and Minister of State, Deputies McEntee and Moynihan, continue to meet with the NCSE and with senior departmental officials on a weekly basis to discuss the progress being made in providing special classes for the next school year. I will take the points made by Deputy Daly back to them. I thank him for raising the matter.