Seanad debates
Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Special Educational Needs
12:00 pm
Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter and welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am sure she is well aware of the matter as she is working hard in this area. I have seen some of the great work that has been done over the last number of years, particularly in St. Finian's College in Mullingar. Special education units have been very useful and well resourced under this Government and the previous one, to be fair.
South Meath is a commuter belt area. Ratoath has a population of approximately 15,000 and is growing. It is a town that has really sprung up. The parents and the school are very happy to push ahead with a special needs unit for Ratoath junior school. Time is of the essence. With September on the horizon, there is a short timeframe to do what we are talking about. If the Minister of State could shed some light on the matter of a special needs unit in Ratoath junior school, I would really appreciate it.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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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.
Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State seems to be aware of the timeline. The school applied to the Department in April. Is it long since the Department sought the additional information back? My understanding is that the school is very gung ho and keen to move on with the project. If the request from the Department was made recently, it may be that we could liaise a bit more strongly with the school or try to dot the i's and cross the t's. I am curious as to the situation in that regard. I will leave it to the discretion of the Minister of State. If it is something that needs a little push along or a personal touch, I would appreciate it if the Minister of State were to provide that.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that. My understanding from speaking to the Department is that the school contacted the Department in April of this year for the refurbishment under the additional school accommodation scheme. My understanding is that the Department liaised quite quickly with the school in respect of particular information it required to progress the application and that it had to issue a reminder recently because the information was not forthcoming. It might be worthwhile for the Senator to speak to the principal and the school. Obviously, I can liaise with the Senator or his staff in terms of giving more information regarding what is required. The school is aware, however, that there is information outstanding. Once we have that information, there should be no difficulty in getting this special class up and running. The fact that the school is currently enrolling children augurs well but summer will be upon us quickly. That is not to say that the ASA scheme and the planning and building unit will not be working during summer. If the Senator were to speak to the school, that would be worthwhile and we would be able to get this progressed.