Written answers
Thursday, 13 February 2025
Department of Education and Skills
School Admissions
Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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194. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary school children with additional needs who are without a school place in 2024/2025; how this compares with each of the past five years; the measures she is taking to address the shortage of school places for children with additional needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5412/25]
Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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As you are aware enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for government. 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 five years, eleven 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 3,300.
408 are new for the 2024/25 school year, 289 at primary level and 119 at post-primary level. Budget 2025 provides funding for another 400 special classes and 300 special school places nationwide.
The NCSE have recently recruited additional SENOs, advisors and team managers. 120 SENOs now operate nationwide, SENOs 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.
It is important that parents seeking special class placements for their children contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. This ensures that the NCSE can plan and provide adequate places for all children known to them.
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 SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.
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.
My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs.
Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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195. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans, if any, to tackle the lack of available spaces in local schools to match the growing population (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5437/25]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that requirements for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €1.3 billion in our schools throughout Dublin county, involving the completion of over 250 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 50 other projects.
In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
While my Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:
- Duplication of applications
- School of choice
- Single sex schools
- External draw
Major new residential developments have the potential to alter the demand for school places at a local level. In that regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, my department monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector. This involves the analysis of data sources from local authorities and the CSO along with the engagement with local authorities and the construction sector. In this way, up-to-date information on significant new residential developments is obtained and factored into the demographic analysis exercise. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes, at a local level, where there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development.
Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, be provided through:
• Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
• Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
• Provision of a new school or schools.
If additional accommodation is required, the aim to try and facilitate this, as much as possible, by way of expansion of existing schools rather than establishing new schools. The expansion of existing schools is consistent with wider Government objectives under Project Ireland 2040 for an increased emphasis on compact growth. In respect of post primary schools, new post primary schools must have a student enrolment capacity of 600-1,000 students and must be co-educational. A lower threshold of 400 students may apply to gaelcholáistí, having regard to the alternative of establishing an Irish-medium unit (aonad) in an English-medium school.
New schools are only established in areas of demographic growth as the resources available for school infrastructure have to be prioritised to meet the needs of areas of significant population increase so as to ensure that every child has a school place.
My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.
There are a number of active primary new school building and extensions projects across the school plannings areas of Dublin Bay North Constituency that will increase capacity. The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, may be viewed on the Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is the agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. TESS can be contacted at 01-7718500 (tessinfo@tusla.ie) for assistance. More information is available on their website on the following link: www.tusla.ie/tess/tess-ews/.
I want to assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to work to ensure a school place for every child throughout Dublin Bay North Constituency school planning areas of Beaumont_CoolockD5, Darndale_D17, Donaghmede_Howth_D13, Killester_Raheny_Clontarf and Drumcondra_Marino_Dublin1, as with others across the country.
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