Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Today I want to raise issues in relation to special education needs in Wicklow. I am really concerned about children who have special education needs. I have been trying to raise this with the Minister of State and am really disappointed that he is not here today. I have been trying to talk to him on the floor of the Dáil for the past few weeks in relation to this issue. I am worried from a number of different perspectives but ultimately, there are three areas of concern.

First, the NCSE has set up a new system through which parents can get a letter of eligibility which they then use to get a special needs place in a school. The portal for that letter of eligibility closed on 1 October. That deadline was for children who need classes in 2026. We both know how difficult it can be to get the assessments done as well as the costs involved, the timelines and the waiting times. Therefore, there is a cohort of children who did not make that 1 October deadline. The NCSE's page on the portal says that the council will give guidance to those parents who did not make the deadline and that guidance would be available within a matter of weeks. That was on 1 October but the council still has not updated the page. I have asked the council and the Minister of State over and over what those parents and children are meant to do. It is not just an issue for Wicklow but across the country. I have been contacted by parents across the country whose children did not get their letters through the portal.

The second issue is that those parents who did get the letter of eligibility have not been able to secure a school place. They were told that this was the process they needed to go through and when they had done so, the supports would be there but they are not hearing anything at all about school places. Children who have special needs and their parents need not only to be sure of a place, they also need time so they can get their children ready for going to school. Any transition like this is very difficult for children with additional needs. The fact that parents still do not know whether their child will get a sanctioned place is completely unacceptable. The whole point of having this new online system was that it would take the uncertainty out of it for parents but that uncertainty is still there. I have spoken to principals who have yet to be told whether they will be sanctioned for classrooms for next September. Those principals need to get everything in place and they are not being told anything by the NCSE. I ask the Minister of State to pass this on to the NCSE and to the Minister of State with responsibility for special education needs. Parents need to be informed immediately. If there is a shortfall of places, those places need to be found somewhere. They need to sanction and open up new classrooms. It absolutely has to be done and they need to get on top of it now.

The other concern I have, which is really worrying, relates to what I have heard from medical professionals who do assessments for children. On multiple occasions when they did medical assessments and made recommendations, the SENO, who is not medically qualified, has refused to accept their recommendations. I was told of a child in Wicklow who is autistic, non-verbal and cannot toilet themselves but was deemed to be not complex enough to warrant a letter of eligibility. That information goes back to the parents and not to the medical professionals. I am wondering how many parents out there have been told "No" by the SENO when their medical professional has said "Yes". This is something that I am really worried about.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this really important issue. At the outset, I want to assure her that the Government is absolutely committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 secured funding for 3,000 new specialist places and the NCSE is currently examining where these places are best located for the coming academic year.

Deputy Whitmore raised three specific issues which I will address in turn. I have a number of pieces of information in relation to Wicklow but I will speak to the three points that the Deputy raised. The first concerned the NCSE, the new system and the letter of eligibility.

Yes, the NCSE brought in a new system. It brought in a much earlier deadline in order to be able to do exactly what the Deputy has articulated, that is, make those offers earlier to give both parents and children the certainty they deserve and need. At the moment, the NCSE has done that and it will have a clear, locally-mapped picture of local demand right across the country for special place classes for the coming academic year once it reviews and assesses the information that was provided through the parents notification portal, which, as the Deputy said, closed on 1 October. I am informed the NCSE will start sanctioning new special classes for the coming academic year shortly. The Department and the NCSE will continue to consider options for increasing special school capacity for exactly the reason the Deputy outlined, that is, to ensure capacity where there is need. This can be achieved either through the expansion of existing special schools or the establishment of new schools.

The earlier notification deadline is about getting us to that point. It was introduced this year to support forward planning and earlier equip the NCSE with the local information as to the students who will be leaving school, transitioning to post-primary specialist places, seeking specialist primary places or placement or entering education for the first time. That information is absolutely critical to examine where provision needs to be placed in order to meet demand. That information is not fully collated or assessed yet. Once the NCSE has fully collated and assessed the information, it will then be in a position to engage with the schools and the principals across the country, which the Deputy spoke about, in order to open new special classes. In doing this, the NCSE will also have due regard to any vacant places in existing special classes in an area and any places that will become available through the normal movement of children leaving primary or post-primary school.

With regard to the Deputy’s point about parents who missed that cut-off deadline, I am assured directly by the Minister and the NCSE that they will continue to support all children made known to them, whether that is after that deadline. It is important that we put this deadline in place for forward-planning purposes and that an earlier timeframe is worked to in which the NCSE has much more local knowledge and detail as soon as possible.

I appreciate the information is not online. That is probably causing an information vacuum. I am encountering it myself. Parents are coming to me saying they have missed that deadline. I have been in touch with the Minister in this regard. Ultimately, what needs to happen is that the NCSE will collate and assess the information which has gone in - it was only in the last number of weeks it has gotten the information – and it will make decisions based on that. I will also ask it to put that information up online.

In respect of SENOs refusing letters of recommendation, that is something the Deputy might raise directly with the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Moynihan.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I was hoping to.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that. There is inconsistency around this from a nationwide perspective and it is quite important that every child, no matter where he or she lives, gets the same treatment.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I am finding this really frustrating. In the response the Minister of State gave – I absolutely acknowledge that is the response she was given and I know this is not her portfolio – she stressed that the NCSE will continue to support all children made known to it after 1 October. First, how are children to be made known to the NCSE if the portal is closed? Second, this has not happened. There has been no contact at all in respect of those parents and children who were not able to get their letter of eligibility. They are now in a vacuum and the risk is that those children will not have a school place, or a suitable school place, for 2026. They could end up in a mainstream school but that is not the best place for them. That is the first point.

It is absolutely incredible that two months after the NCSE said that it would update its website to inform parents about the next steps if they did not meet the deadline, the website is still not updated, even though I have raised it by email with the Minister and the NCSE. I have also raised it on the floor of the Dáil. It is completely unacceptable. It is so un-child and un-parent centred; it is incredible. I am all for forward planning but please treat people with respect and provide them with the information they need to relieve some of their stress.

When it comes to developing a clear picture of local demand, I absolutely have no problem with the principles behind this process. The reality is that for two months now, the NCSE has had a picture of the exact number of children in an area eligible for a letter of eligibility. It has had that information for two months. While all of the children in mainstream schools are now being told whether they have a school place and the school they are going to, children with additional or special education needs have no idea because the NCSE still has not provided that information. I understand the need for a new process but the NCSE is absolutely failing to implement this properly in the first year of its existence.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I, too, agree with the need for a new process. Every year for countless years, we have had parents at the last minute not knowing where their children are going to school. This is about reducing, as much as possible, that stress, strain and uncertainty. We now have the information as of 1 October. The NCSE is working hard to collate, process and map that out to figure out the schools that may have physical capacity to take on additional classrooms and where we might be able to put in additional special schools.

It was great to see the sod turned for a new building for St. Catherine’s Special School in the Deputy’s constituency earlier this week. These projects are happening around the country.

The information is needed to be able to inform the strategy of the areas where those projects are needed the most. I will absolutely take it up directly with the NCSE as to why more information is not available for parents on its website, particularly for parents who missed that 1 October deadline because they missed it through no fault of their own; they were waiting for an assessment. I will absolutely do that.

While I am sure it will be written into the Dáil record, the Deputy should have information specific to Wicklow because this Topical Issue was originally to discuss special education in Wicklow. There are 132 special classes now in operation, providing capacity for 800 students. That includes 12 special classes for this year. That means the number of classes in County Wicklow has almost doubled in the past five years. The earlier notification system will help us when it comes to continuing to roll out new special schools and new special classes across the country.