Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the provisions in the EPSEN Act relating to his Department which are yet to be commenced and implemented in full; the estimated cost of implementing the EPSEN Act in full for his Department; and if he will provide a breakdown of the areas in which these costs would be incurred. [29984/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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A number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 have been commenced, including those establishing the National Council for Special Education and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children.

The following sections of EPSEN were commenced in 2005:

Section 1 – Interpretation

Section 2 - providing for the inclusive education of children with Special Educational Needs

Section 14 – placing certain duties on schools

Sections 19 to 37 - placing the Council on a statutory footing.

Section 39 - placing certain duties on Health Boards

Sections 40 to 53 - amending the Education Act

Schedule 1 – providing for meetings and membership of the Council

Schedule 2 providing for the Chief Executive Officer of the Council.

The remaining sections of the Act have yet to be commenced. Legal advice provided to my Department indicates that the EPSEN Act, as it is currently constituted, may not be implemented on a phased, or age cohort, basis.

The Sections of the EPSEN Act which have not been implemented are those which would have conferred a statutory entitlement to –

- an educational assessment for all children with special educational needs.

- consequent development of a statutory individual educational plan (IEP).

- the delivery of detailed educational services on foot of this plan.

-an independent appeals process.

Estimates would also have to be made as to the number of pupils who might qualify for the statutory service provisions envisaged by the EPSEN Act.

The NCSE published a Plan for the Implementation of the EPSEN Act in 2006. This report concluded that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement the EPSEN Act.

My Department's opinion is that the level of investment required could be significantly greater than that envisaged in the NCSE report.

Revised estimates of the amount of additional expenditure required to fully implement remaining sectors of the EPSEN Act have not recently been conducted. The level of additional expenditure required would have to take into account annual demographic growth and service developments in the area of special educational needs, pricing adjustments and salary cost differentials on an ongoing basis. Accordingly it is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the areas in which these costs would be incurred. 

While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has published a number of policy advice papers which make recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model, and which aims to move the system towards ultimate implementation of the EPSEN Act.

These reports include the NCSE policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, published in 2013, and the Report of the Working Group on a Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for pupils with Special Educational Needs, published in 2014.

The alternative model was piloted in 47 schools during 2015/16 school year and the effectiveness of the pilot is currently being reviewed. This review will allow us to take into account the learning experiences of schools, principals, pupils and the views of parents over the course of the pilot.

It is therefore intended to bring into effect many of the good ideas contained in the EPSEN Act, on a non-statutory basis initially, through policy developments across a range of areas, in conjunction with NCSE policy advice. Under the Programme for a Partnership Government, I have also committed to consulting with stakeholders to see how best to progress sections of the EPSEN Act that were introduced on a non-statutory basis.