Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was contacted last week by constituents concerning a report that there may be a shortage of allocations of special education teachers next year. A new allocation system was introduced in 2017, which allocated special education staff based on factors such as number of students, the number of children with complex needs, standardised test results, gender spread and if there was disadvantaged status. The new allocation system was intended to replace the old allocation which provided for staff for children with common difficulties, but if a child had a disability or complex educational needs the school would only receive extra teaching hours following a professional assessment. The new system brought in an extra 900 special teachers last year and it was intended to provide a further 100 this year. The Minister must come to the House to clarify that the increase will remain in place for the next two-year cycle and that there will be no further cuts to the number of special education teachers. That is crucial.

Another issue brought to my attention is that schools should be given plenty of notice of allocations in order to sort clustering arrangements. The need for more notice was a big issue last year. School enrolments are at a peak of more than 500,000 in primary schools and the numbers are increasing at second level at a rapid rate. I would like the Minister to address this House and reassure parents that they will not have to fight again for teaching posts they already fought for.

Previous speakers referred to the need to support nurses. We must support them, and we must also be supportive of teachers, paramedics, gardaí and front-line staff. That will be a very big issue next year. We in the Seanad and Deputies must support those who provide front-line services.