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

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. He will be aware that the creation and opening of special classes are of paramount importance to me and the Department. To put it in context, we have 2,118 special classes in the country at present. We have opened 300 special classes this year, creating about 1,800 special class places. By the end of this year, we will have 2,148 special classes. We are making substantial progress, especially considering that we only had 548 special classes in 2011.

The Senator has made a specific request around Ratoath junior school. I understand the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, sanctioned a special class by letter in November last year. Once the NCSE sanctions a special class, it is then up to the particular school to apply to the Department. The school did that under the additional accommodation scheme for the refurbishment of rooms to accommodate a special education class. I understand the school submitted this request for the refurbishment only in April of this year. The Department has asked for more information from the school. A reminder was also issued to the school to get that information to the Department in order that it can progress this matter.

I understand Ratoath junior school is enrolling students already for its special class and there should be no difficulty in supporting it under the additional school accommodation scheme. However, the school needs to respond to the Department with the additional information sought. The Department has to ensure it does everything by the book and gets all the information it needs for value for money reasons and so on. Perhaps the Senator will request that the school contact the Department as soon as possible so that, as he says, the special class can be opened in September. I understand the school is enrolling children for this year.

I also note the Senator's comment that there are approximately 15,000 people living in Ratoath. It is not just about providing a special class for Ratoath National School. We have four special classes already serving Ratoath, two in St. Paul's National School and two in Ashbourne Educate Together National School, and there is going to be demand for more.It is up to the National Council for Special Education to have an adequate forecasting model in place to ensure we can predict ahead of time that we have capacity for the demand that will accrue. Every year, I am scrambling to get special class places and special school places. That is not something that I, the NCSE or the Department wish to see into the future. We wish to make sure that every child gets the education he or she deserves, particularly those children with additional needs, who need it more than most.