Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of Education and Skills
School Accommodation
Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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628. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department can provide an update on the need for an ASD unit in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1673/25]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive (HSE). This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.
The provision of education for children with special needs is an ongoing priority for Government. The numbers of special classes, special education teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) are at unprecedented levels. Almost 1,700 classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE in the last 5 years, 11 new special schools have been established and many more expanded. For this school year alone over 400 new special classes have been sanctioned bringing the total number of special classes nationwide to 3,336.
In 2024, the department spent over €2.7 billion on special education and further progress will be made in 2025 as an additional €159 million has been dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.
Over a quarter of the entire education budget has been dedicated to special education in recent years.
The main supports this funding provides for are special classes, SNAs and special education teachers.
The NCSE has advised that there are 3,336 special classes in operation nationwide for this school year. These classes can provide for over 21,000 students. 408 of these are new for the current school year – 289 at primary and 119 at post-primary level.
Of the 124 special schools nationwide, 4 special schools have been established for this school year and further capacity has being expanded in 11 other special schools. Five more will be added for the 2025/26 school year in counties Cork, Dublin, Monaghan and Tipperary. This will bring to 16 the number of new special schools opened in recent years. Over 9,000 students are currently enrolled in special schools.
An additional €159 million in funding will be made available to provide for a further 768 teachers, and a further 1,600 SNAs to be recruited in 2025, to deliver up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs.
In addition, a dedicated special education innovation fund in recognition of the need to continually evolve and examine best practice to support children with special educational needs has received funding. Funding has been secured for targeted measures to help children with special educational needs with planning and transitioning to and from the various level of our education system. It has also been provided for supporting teachers and SNAs in their enhanced training requirements.
The largest investment in the Summer Programme has also been secured.
This €62 million investment will allow the department to continue to prioritise the most vulnerable children in our society, those with the most complex special educational needs and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to access the additional support that they need during the summer.
The NCSE continue to assess what additional provision is required for the 2025/26 school year in local areas and what schools have capacity to accommodate required provision. The NCSE will progress the sanctioning of new special classes over the coming weeks and will advise parents in turn on the location of new special classes.
I am pleased to advise the Deputy that another school in the School Planning area has been identified as having suitable capacity to accommodate special education classrooms required for the area and a proposed accommodation brief has been sent to that school for their consideration.
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