Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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452. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to assist a school in south Kerry (details supplied) with the setting up of a special classroom for children with specific needs and autism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2747/25]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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470. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2877/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 452 and 470 together.

As you are aware enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for government. Thanks to considerable investment in special education in recent years the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs. 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 over 3,330.

98 of these classes are in County Kerry , 7 are new for the 2024/25 school year, 5 at primary level and 2 at post-primary level. Budget 2025 provides funding for another 400 special classes and 300 special school places nationwide.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise parents and can provide details on schools with available special educational places. Parents may contact SENO's directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.

The NCSE have recently recruited additional SENO's, advisors and team managers. 120 SENO's now operate nationwide, with four solely operating in County Kerry. SENO's play an important role in ensuring there is adequate special educational provision within local areas and are currently visiting schools nationwide to conduct planning meetings. Over 1,000 school planning visits have occurred in recent months. These planning visits have been key to the NCSE in determining what new provision can be provided and it is expected that the NCSE will sanction a number of new special classes in the coming weeks.

The NCSE continue to assess what additional provision is required 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 for the 2025/26 school year. The NCSE are prioritising medium to large primary schools with no special class or just one special class to open a new special class.

Any school who expresses an interest in opening a new special class is to be commended. However, it may not be possible to open special classes in every school.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs.