Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the in-school therapy supports pilot programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8965/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, my department is working with the Department of Health, DCEDIY and the HSE to develop and strengthen more coherent structures to enable children and young people to access therapeutic supports.

On the 9th August 2024, the Government made a decision to support a special schools’ pilot to deliver enhanced in-school therapy supports to children in sixteen special schools during the 2024/2025 academic year. This pilot supplements existing services being provided through Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs).

Six schools were selected to participate in Phase 1 of the pilot and ten schools were selected for Phase 2, with phased onboarding of schools to the pilot over the course of the 2024/2025 academic year.

Based on updates received as part of the ongoing engagement with colleagues in DCEDIY and the Health Service Executive (HSE) we can advise that all six schools in Phase 1 have filled most of the therapy posts assigned as part of the pilot. This includes three of the Cork area schools and one of the Dublin area schools in Phase 1, who have now filled all therapy posts allocated as part of the pilot.

The fourth Cork school in Phase 1 has an SLT in post and an OT with a provisional start date. The remaining Dublin school in Phase 1 has filled one post, with recruitment efforts ongoing for the remaining post.

All schools in Phase 1 of the pilot are receiving some provision of additional in-school therapy supports, with recruitment efforts ongoing by HSE and the Lead agencies to fill outstanding posts, to scale up provision to targeted levels.

The ten schools in Phase 2 of the pilot will come on board on a phased basis in 2025.

The first Cork school in Phase 2 has filled the SLT post and has an OT at the pre-employment stage of recruitment. The second Cork school in Phase 2 has filled the OT post, with recruitment ongoing for the SLT post.

While recruitment efforts are ongoing, the children in each of the sixteen special schools continue to receive supports through their local CDNT.

Finally, the HSE advises that it is pursuing all measures to bridge the gaps that currently exist between intended levels of service and what is being delivered.