Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Senator I will bring her comments to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Department. I will set out the work we have done in regard to special education. It is a priority for this Government and we are putting in the investment to ensure supports and school places are there for every single child. We are spending over €2 billion on special education this year. I have already announced the opening of two new special schools for next September. We have an additional 1,000 special needs assistants in the system this year, we are providing an extra 1,500 special class places for September and the number of special classes has increased by 235% since 2011. We reopened in-school special education first as a priority after Covid school closures.There is a major commitment that from this year all new school buildings will include special educational needs facilities into the future. We cannot underestimate the impact of that. We are also preparing for an expanded summer provision programme for students with additional needs. We have made good progress and the work goes on. Ar aghaidh leis an obair.