Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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561. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for a county-by-county breakdown of the 3,275 children now identified as requiring a special educational place for September 2025 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10775/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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562. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for a school-by-school breakdown of unused SEN places as of 4 March 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10776/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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563. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for a county-by-county breakdown of the 3,900 special educational places expected to be delivered for September 2025 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10777/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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564. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process for identifying demand for special education places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10778/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 561 to 564, incluisve, together.

This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.

Through the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school 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. On top of this, the NCSE advise that there will be over 1,200 places available through the normal annual movement of students progressing from primary to post-primary and students graduating from post-primary or special schools. There also remains special class vacancies in some areas of the country.

In October 2024, my Department issued a new circular letter to all schools setting out a range of new measures to support the forward planning of special education provision. One of these measures requested parents of children seeking a special class or special school place to notify the NCSE by 1 February. This measure aims to ensure that the NCSE have a clearer picture of the overall level of need in local areas.

Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that 309 of these classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year.

Work is also progressing on the establishment of 5 new special schools in Dublin (2), Cork, Tipperary, and Monaghan and capacity is being expanded in a number of existing special schools.

Where new special classes have been sanctioned, I would urge schools to progress the admission of students as soon as possible to ensure that the NCSE can continue to evaluate demand in local areas, sanction classes as required and assist parents in securing a school place.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. Local 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.

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.