Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I put down this Commencement matter asking the Minister to provide an update on the process as to how it can forward plan the provision of sufficient places for students with special needs. I have raised this issue with him on several occasions. We need to ensure we have enough special needs places for students with special needs.

Currently the pathway to such access is slightly unclear so the Minister might clarify that. Students go into an early intervention setting, which is provided by the HSE. They might spend two or three years in that setting and then go into a school setting. They would seek a special needs place in a school. I have been informed by parents that the process involves them applying to multiple schools for such a place for their child. That does not make sense in a rural setting, or even in an urban one. Parents have to apply to four, five or six schools. There may be six such places per school and they have to wait until August to find out the school to which their child has got access.

There must be a way of forward planning such provision. Given that the HSE is involved at the early intervention stage, which is two or three years prior to a child going into the school setting, a forward planning network could be put in place to provide a place for the child in their nearest school. Currently, children are being driven in taxis to and from schools that are a distance of 20 or 30 miles from their homes. That does not make sense. I hope a plan can be put in place to ensure parents can get access to the special education services their child needs.

Parents seek clarity. They want to ensure they can get a special needs place for their child and to ensure that when their child is assessed at the age of one or two that in three years' time they will have a special needs place in a school. Such a link does not appear to be in place. The Minister might clarify that. It might be in place and simply needs to be worked on. Such a link would provide an understanding of the system and would work to ensure parents have a school place for their child. A school place, in particular in their local school, is one of main the issues they want addressed. Many schools in my area have six special needs places attached to them, although some schools do not. If there is such a need in a locality, that needs to be provided for at least two years in advance of a child entering the school setting.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue on which we are intensively working. We have a budget of more than €1.9 billion for special needs and a Department budget of €11 billion, which represents quite a substantial injection of money.We have 1,500 SNAs. We got an additional 950 this year. Special classes have increased from fewer than 500 to approximately 1,500 since 2011. There has been enormous progress. However, I agree with what Senator Lombard said. The piece of work we are doing at the moment is how we can do better at pre-planning and forward planning and how we can improve communication channels with parents. It is not right that parents have to go around to schools or be given a list. That is something I have brought up with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, when I had a meeting with it last week. I will continue to meet with it on that. Timing is another issue in terms of when enrolment for special needs purposes happens. I am happy to keep the Senator up to date in that regard.

The NCSE has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs and consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive. This includes the establishment of special classes and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need. In deciding where to establish a special class in an area, the NCSE takes account of the current and projected demand and available school accommodation both current and planned. The council ensures that schools in an area can between them cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements. As I outlined, they have increased from 548 in 2011 to 1,459 this year. Provision in special schools has increased from 6,848 placements in 2011 to 7,872 this year. When the NCSE sanctions a special class in a school, the school can apply to the Department for capital funding to reconfigure existing spaces or to construct additional accommodation. Similarly, special schools can apply to the Department for capital funding to accommodate additional placements.

Notwithstanding the extent of the investment, issues remain. In some parts of the country increases in population and other issues have led to shortages in capacity in the school system. I assure Senator Lombard that this issue is being taken very seriously. The NCSE formally advised the Minister for Education and Skills that there is insufficient special school and special class capacity in Dublin 15 and in Kildare. The formal notification was sent to me in recent weeks. The letter is a formal activation of a process under the admissions legislation under which ultimately a ministerial direction can be made requiring a school to make additional special education provision available. The NCSE and the Department are actively engaging with education service providers in order to encourage them to address the shortage of places. I am encouraged that, to date, those efforts have resolved the issue in Kildare and resulted in progress in Dublin 15.

Engagement with schools, patron bodies, parents and others is continuing in Dublin 15 to bring the required additional special class and special school placements on-stream. The NCSE will keep in regular contact with the parents of the children concerned to advise them of progress and to identify placements as they become available. The NCSE and officials from the Department of Education and Skills hosted a briefing session for Oireachtas Members in Leinster House on Tuesday last to advise Members on the approach being taken.

I again thank Senator Lombard because we have embarked on a very ambitious journey for special education inclusion and ensuring that special education is at the heart of the education system, but like any journey it is an ongoing and evolving one and I am happy to work with him along the way.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply regarding the issue. It is about trying to find a pathway so that when parents have a diagnosis they can access early intervention and are ensured of a place in two years' time. That is probably the body of work that is required. The HSE has the information and I am concerned that it would provide the information to the Department of Education and Skills in order that we can provide what is required, namely, access to a local school. We have a school bus system and many other systems. As the Minister correctly said, the education model is built on inclusivity and ensuring children can access education in the community and parish.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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We have been working on a school inclusion pilot project for Kildare and Wicklow and parts of south Dublin that will involve 75 schools and preschools.That understanding of need at an early stage is critical. Regardless of whatever resources are needed in the aftermath, it has to be done in a comprehensive way whether it involves speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, complex medical need, behavioural support or whatever.

This pilot will start in September. It has a budget €4.75 million. We will look at the pilot as a potential forerunner of a national roll-out. We are looking at integration involving the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Health and Education and Skills in order to identify how we can more effectively work on the issue of inclusion raised by the Senator. I acknowledge the officials in the respective Departments. I know that officials can get a lot of negative attention when things go wrong but in politics, it is important to acknowledge creativity. There is a creative approach to this school inclusion model that I believe will be very positive in the years ahead.