Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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370. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s criteria in determining a schools' special education teacher allowance; the way educational disadvantage is calculated for the purpose of this allocation; if educational disadvantage is based solely on students eircodes and the Pobal deprivation index; if consideration is given to other factors such as the number of students attending a school from historically educationally disadvantaged groups such as the Travelling community; if this is taken into account as part of the appeals process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6182/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive a befitting education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The Special Education Teaching (SET) Allocation Model is a standardised allocation model that provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the teaching needs of students in mainstream classes.

For 2025/26 school year close to 15,000 special education teachers have been allocated to schools to support these children and young people.

The allocation model uses a variety of statistical data to complete allocations. This data includes, enrolment data, data on educational needs profiles (literacy and numeracy) and data on educational disadvantage. This data is sourced from within the education sector to ensure it is validated and assured. The only external data used is the Pobal HP Deprivation Index which is used by Irish government departments for identification of disadvantage.

However, unique circumstances may arise in schools that may be difficult to reflect in a standardised method. Therefore, any school who has any concerns on their allocation can engage with the NCSE. The NCSE will provide support to schools as required and will examine if the allocation is sufficient to meet the identified needs of all children and young people enrolled.

Where the NCSE identifies the need for additional resources, my department will immediately approve the identified increase so that it is available to the school ahead of the 2025/26 school year.

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.