Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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286. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has made projections for the percentage of the school going population who will need to be accommodated in either a special school or a special class attached to a mainstream school by 2030; if she will outline what the percentage is; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10548/25]

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

Through the accelerated provision of additional special education places over recent years, there are now just over 28,000 students enrolled in special classes and special schools. Budget 2025 provides for an additional 2,700 specialist places, made up of 400 new special class and 300 additional special school places. However, the majority of children with special educational needs, approximately 250,000, attend mainstream school and are supported to do so by the 15,000 special educational teachers and 12,500 SNAs attached to our mainstream classes.

My department and the NCSE engage on a weekly basis in relation to the forward planning of special class and special school provision to meet the present, and future need, of children with special educational needs.

It is expected that a similar level of new special class and special school places may need to be provided over each of the next few years. As more and more special classes open in primary schools and as the overall level of enrolments at primary level reduce, it is expected that over time the normal annual progression of students from primary special classes to post-primary will provide a significant number of places each year for younger children seeking a special class placement. At post-primary level, my Department has already written to all schools asking them to prepare to provide on average four special classes each.

To help support the establishment of special educational places my department issued a circular letter (0080/2024) to all schools setting out a number of new measures to support the work of the NCSE and schools in providing new special classes.

These measures include more streamlined funding for the refurbishment of available accommodation to provide a special classroom. It also sets out a new process whereby the parents of a child with special educational needs can notify the NCSE, as early as possible, if a special class or special school place is being sought. In providing this key data to aid planning it also allows the NCSE to provide advice and information to parents on the supports available.

The NCSE continue to assess what additional provision is required in local areas and what schools have capacity to accommodate required provision for the next school year and indeed thereafter. As the NCSE progress the sanctioning of new special classes over the coming weeks they will advise parents in turn on the location of new special classes.

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