Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call on Senator Fitzpatrick, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery Mr. Kevin Conlon, his wife Claudia who is a former judge, and their children Cody and Carson. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today and I thank them for being with us. They are great friends of Carl Hughes.

I also welcome another great friend of the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She is very welcome to Seanad Éireann this morning and it was a pleasure to meet her in Kenmare over the weekend. I thank her for saying "hello" to my father, who is one of the people she looks after in her role as the person in charge of older people, although he might disagree that he is an older person at slightly over the age of eight decades or thereabouts.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is welcome. She has responsibility for older people but also for mental health. For all of our mental health education is very important. My Commencement matter calls on the Minister for Education to confirm the location of a new special education school in Dublin 7. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would update the House on the provision of what will be a new special school but also the admission policy, the number of places that will be offered and the type of school it will be.

Special educational needs are the educational arrangements put in place for people and children with disabilities. In 1998 the then Minister with responsibility for education the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, introduced the Education Act. This emphasises inclusivity and equality of access and provides for persons with disabilities and other special educational needs to avail of all of the benefits of education. There was further legislation in 2004 when the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act provided for children to be educated in inclusive settings unless that would not be in the best interests of the child.

Children with special needs are children who require special education because they have unique learning requirements. They have different learning requirements from those who are more typical and more the norm. Special education is designed to provide tailored instruction, support and resources to meet the specific needs of these children. People with special educational needs are those whose capacity to participate and benefit fully from education is in some way restricted due to a physical, sensory, mental health or learning disability. It is broadly accepted, and we can be proud as a country and as a society of the importance we place on ensuring that every child has access to education, particularly those with special educational needs so they can maximise their participation in education.

Special educational needs are the educational arrangements put in place for people and children with disabilities. In 1998 the then Minister with responsibility for education the Tánaiste Deputy Micheál

he norm. Special education is designed to provide tailored instruction support and resources to meet the specific needs of these children. People with special educational needs those who if there is capacity to participate and benefit fully from education is in some way restricted due to a physical, sensory, mental health learning disability. It is broadly accepted and we can be proud of the country and a society of the importance we place on ensuring that every child has access to education, particularly those with special educational needs so they can maximise their participation in education.

In Dublin 7 there must be hundreds of thousands of children with special educational needs. On 12 April we were delighted that it was announced there would be two new special educational schools delivered this year by the Government. We welcome this. One was announced for Carrigtwohill in east Cork and the other was for Dublin 7. We understand the special education school in Dublin 7 will be under the patronage of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB and that it is to open for the 2023-2024 academic year. We do not know where it will be and this is of big interest. We do not know whether it will be a primary and secondary school. We do not know how children will enrol or apply for it. We are searching for some details from the Department. The Department has indicated that the location will be announced. It stated that the new school will be State run, co-educational, multidenominational and underpinned by the core values of excellence in education, respect, care, equality and community. This is the hallmark of CDETB.

From a health perspective, Dublin 7 is in CHO 9. Back in September 2021, there were 12 children disability network teams in CHO 9. This resource is very welcome. There are 238 posts and there is recruitment for vacancies. It is an incredibly difficult time for all organisations to recruit. I want to emphasise there is great welcome for this news and we just want more information.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. She is right. We have made great progress in recent years and I will be able provide some clarity about the case to which she referred.

At the outset, I stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for this Government. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. To support children with more complex needs, special classes in mainstream schools and special schools are provided.

This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or over 27% of its budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. For 2023, the Department has further increased the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools and I know everybody will welcome that. There will be an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants, SNAs, in our schools by the end of this calendar year. For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and more than 20,000 SNAs.

The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. Over the past three years, the Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit, with more than 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the past three years.

On 12 April, the Minister for Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion announced the establishment of two further new special schools as part of a comprehensive update on enhanced education provision for students with special educational needs. These two new special schools will be established in Carrigtwohill in east Cork and Dublin 7 for the 2023-24 school year and will bring to seven the number of new special schools established over the past three years. Along with the two new special schools, the NCSE has also sanctioned 328 new special classes for opening in the coming school year with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks - 217 at primary and 111 at post-primary level. The vast majority of these new classes are to support children with autism.

I know the Senator is interested in the specific details regarding the new special school in Dublin. It will be the first special school under the patronage of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, ETB. Regarding the location of this new special school, I can confirm that the Grangegorman Development Agency is in discussions with the Department regarding the leasing of a site for a special school for young people with additional educational needs that will initially be located on the Grangegorman site. It is proposed that the new school be located on the former site of the Dublin 7 Educate Together School, which is in the process of moving from temporary facilities to its new purpose-built home on another part of the Grangegorman site. These facilities are much needed for young people in the area and this interim arrangement at Grangegorman is proposed to help meet this demand until the longer term location for a new permanent school can be worked through.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for clarifying the matter. It is good to get clarity. The site at Grangegorman that has served the Educate Together school for many years is ideally located. The Educate Together school community has waited a long time for the new purpose-built school. I look forward to it moving into that on the Grangegorman campus, and I wish it well.

This is very positive news. It would be really helpful if the Minister and the City of Dublin ETB could facilitate a meeting with parents in the area. These parents, guardians and carers are obviously very committed to their young people and want this school to be a success and to support its opening. If the Minister could be asked be asked to facilitate an engagement with them to talk about how it is going to progress, it would be very positive and constructive.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education continues to work closely with the City of Dublin ETB and the NCSE in planning for the establishment of the new special school. Details regarding the admission process and the number of places to be offered for 2023-2024 in the new special school will be confirmed very shortly. Recruitment for the school is expected to commence this week, with the principal position being advertised as the first step in this process.

The Minister, the Minister of State and their officials are happy to provide updates on the new special school as the project progresses. The NCSE is also available to keep parents updated on the progress of the project as well. I know having this interaction is really important. Regarding the Senator's earlier question about primary or secondary, I know the three special schools we have in Waterford city and Dungarvan serve an age range of between four and 18. I am not saying for definite but I know that is the situation in the three special schools we have. Children go through their entire education there.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Excellent.