Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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477. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the policy for facilitating ASD units in second-level education; if she is concerned that many secondary schools do not have an ASD unit and that the number has dramatically increased in recent years for these services; the way she plans to address same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11726/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. The Department of Education will spend approximately €2 Billion or over 20% of its total educational budget in 2021 on making additional provision for children with special educational needs this year.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its engagement with schools, parents of students with special educational needs, as well as certain demographical data, identifies current and anticipated demand for special education provision. This informs the long term forecasting of demand for such provision, over a rolling 5 year period, which in turn facilitates planning for special education placements in special classes, and special schools, in particular.

Through its network of SENOs (Special Educational Needs Organisers), the NCSE gathers information at a local level on demand for special education placements, and this is collated at a national level to identify areas of potential unmet demand. Based on this, the NCSE engages with my Department in planning for this identified unmet demand, in particular, to plan for suitable existing or new accommodation, as well as the resourcing requirements for schools in those areas where an unmet demand has been identified. This is an ongoing process, with forecasts being continually updated to ensure that special education provision is put in place when and where required.

The process of opening special classes is an ongoing one; special classes can be sanctioned at any time in the year, but always as soon as agreement has been reached with the school to open a class. This is to allow sufficient lead in time for the school to plan for its opening, and for staff to avail of the relevant Teacher Professional Learning provided by the NCSE. Teachers assigned to new classes are prioritised for places on a number of NCSE seminars.

There were 70 new special classes established in post primary schools in the 2020/2021 school year. Plans are already well advanced for a similar number of additional post primary special classes for 2021/22.