Results 81-100 of 5,928 for speaker:Michael Moynihan

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I was at a school gate this day last year and I met a parent whom I know extremely well. They did not know where their child was going in August 2024. I could not say how much it affected me as a public representative of a long time. I worked with them right through the summer and we did get a place. The day I got this job, I said, “That is my light. That is what is going to drive...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: We must ensure the best possible communications are in place. The circulars sent to the schools have been put out with a date but the vast majority of families of persons with additional needs do not know today that that date is out there. They do not know that date has been moved, even if we may know it as public representatives. We are going to do a huge pile of work from the middle of...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank Senator Nelson Murray for that. I believe the school she was talking about is at 2b of the process within the Department but we will follow it up again and check it out. I take the point relating to management. The people in the management of special schools around the country are superhuman. They are special people capable of doing amazing work and we should pay tribute to the...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The campus the Senator referred to is at stage 2b and is something we have a particular interest in. We have spoken about it at various levels within the Department. The minor works grant was given to schools earlier this year than previously but it is out there.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: Yes, there is some money there. We are acutely aware of the challenges and we in the Department and the NCSE are working to ensure we have the best possible services out there. The need is also growing and we must be mindful of that.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for her questions. We get a lot of questions about Down's syndrome. We have met a number of families and organisations regarding Down's syndrome over the past five months. There is a fear that Down's syndrome is being forgotten about; I assure the Deputy that is not the case. There has been a huge increase in ASD and autism diagnosis, not just in Ireland but right...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: As I understand it, we are collecting data. On all of the policies, the best decisions that have been made in the Department and beyond are when we have data to support the decisions. We are looking at that because parents of children with Down's syndrome fear they are being forgotten. I assure the Deputy that is not the case. I assure her that we will continue to monitor it. I would...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I might leave that to one side and we can come back to it.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: We have committed that it will come out at the same time as the allocation for teachers. The two decisions on the teacher allocations and the SNA allocations will be given to the school authorities at the same time. That feeds into what we are hoping to do with better planning and giving greater certainty to schools and school communities. A lot of work has also been going on with the NCSE...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I did visit the school and I was extremely impressed. When you go into schools that have special classes or are looking after additional needs, you can sense in 20 seconds the commitment that is there from the leadership of the school. I was impressed by the leadership of it. We will engage with the NCSE again. If it were possible, and not in a public forum, for the Deputy to give me the...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The decision had been taken that they were not going ahead with that mild general learning class. It was something that spooked me in terms of how we go forward with that. I give a commitment that we will engage with the NCSE. If the Deputy passes on the family details too, I will see what we can do.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: We had a great engagement on those numbers in the past week. The Minister made a commitment that we have been working extremely hard this week, last week and earlier. The commitment is that we will bring those figures to Cabinet in the disability committee in early July.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: Earlier in the year we identified that we would have huge problems probably in Dublin and Cork, which were the two issues. We worked hard on it. From the meetings I have had today, I understand we have a pathway to try to accommodate everybody. It would be easy for me to say, but I do not have the percentages. I know it is well north of what was given last week, but I know we are working...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: There are almost 100 new special classes being opened in Dublin this year alone. There is a huge amount of extra capacity for special needs. We are working right now to try with all arms of the State.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: Very much so. A total 80% of the new classes that have been sanctioned in Dublin and across the country are going into existing buildings. There is a huge amount of that. A huge amount of work has also been done by the Department on modular and various other plans that is working towards getting capacity. A lot of the modular buildings being put in place for special schools and classes...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: A new appeal mechanism has gone live today on the NCSE for the SNAs. I know, from my experience, that there is a good number and we will be working on those.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: No, it is not, because any SNA that has been fully sanctioned has materialised. In some cases, they want extra help in the schools and classrooms because they have additional complex needs. They would have put that information in, but they did not get the allocation. They have now appealed that decision and we have asked them to put as much support as possible in. Obviously, the appeals...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: We certainly hear loud and clear the fear and anxiety among the Down's syndrome community and their families. They are really concerned about this and we must ensure they are part of the conversation, front and centre. I give a commitment this will be done. On the transparency side of it, in the past 12 months and in the previous budget of 2024, there was a huge amount of money given to...

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: Rather than comment on the individual school, I will follow this up. I ask the Senator to send me the details on this.

Committee on Education and Youth: Education for Children with Special Educational Needs: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (25 Jun 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I will get back to her on it. Schools cannot refuse enrolments in the first instance but, be that as it may, rather than talking in the dark, I will get a full update on this and come back to the Senator.