Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an t-ábhar seo a ardú inniu. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Madigan. The Senator has raised a number of questions. I wholeheartedly agree with him regarding the value of Gaelscoileanna. My children are being educated in Gaelscoil Osraí in Kilkenny, which started off in a prefabricated building and now has more than 500 pupils. It is a hugely successful school and does a fantastic job of passing on our language through education.

The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, wants to stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for the Government. She assures the Senator that students with special educational needs attending schools, including Gaelscoileanna, are treated in an equitable and fair way in regard to the allocation of special education teacher hours and SNA provision. All schools have access to a similar range of supports. Each child has unique skills and characteristics and it is vital that we ensure our schools and school staff have the resources and knowledge they need to provide a flexible and tailored approach to supporting all children, particularly those with additional needs.

The Department of Education funds a continuum of education provision for children with special educational needs. This extends from a placement in a mainstream class with the necessary additional teaching and care supports provided, through to a placement in a special class or special school. The policy aims to ensure students with special educational needs are educated alongside their peers where that is possible and appropriate. This approach is in the best interests of all children, including those with special needs. In Ireland, most children with special educational needs are educated in mainstream settings. That is the right way to do it. In circumstances where children and young people with special educational needs require more specialised interventions, a special class or special school places are provided. These settings cater for children with the most complex needs and attract much reduced ratios of teachers and SNAs to pupils, depending on the nature of the disability. The nature and level of the educational response, including placement in a special class or school setting, is based on the professionally assessed needs of each individual child.

This continuum of special education has been prioritised by the Government in recent years. This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2 billion, or more than 25% of its total budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. This represents an increase of over 60% in total expenditure since 2011. Significant additional investment in new teacher and SNA posts is provided for in 2022, which will expand provision across the continuum of special education. There is provision for 287 additional special classes, with 1,700 new places for the 2022-23 school year. This will bring the total number of special classes to 2,435. An additional 1,165 SNAs will be allocated to provide support to children with special educational needs, bringing the total number of SNAs to 19,169 by the end of December. There is provision for 980 new teaching posts in special education. There now are more than 14,000 special education teachers, SETs, in schools, who support the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream classes. Two new special schools have opened in Cork and Dublin this year, with a further new special school announced for Rochestown in Cork for the 2022-23 school year.

The Department works closely with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to ensure children with special educational needs receive an education. A network of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, who are located across the country, are working closely with families and young people to access suitable school placements. I will follow up with the Senator on the other issues he raised. He asked about a new-build project, which is not really addressed in this response.