Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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354. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the Minister responsible for school therapy places at Cabinet. [37322/24]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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355. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the engagement that was had with party leaders in the coalition regarding school therapies in the past number of months. [37325/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 354 and 355 together.

Since 2021 the Government has sought to reinstate the pre-existing on-site health and social care supports to special schools. Between 2021 and 2022, Government provided funding for the reinstatement of 223 posts that had been historically provided. While some services have been reinstated it is acknowledged that progress has been affected by the shortage of health and social care professionals.

On 9th August, I together with Minister Foley, Minister Rabbitte and Minister Naughton welcomed the government decision to support a special school’s pilot which will provide delivery of in-school therapy supports to children in selected special schools. The pilot follows on from discussions I have had with both the Taoiseach and Tanaiste around the return of therapists to special schools, including those that took place as part of the Cabinet Committee on Children, Education and Disability. The programme will be provided by the Health Service Executive’s Children’s Disability Network Teams in sixteen special schools, commencing in Cork and Dublin and will be supported by the National Council for Special Education.