Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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680. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the National Council for Special Education runs a communications campaign; if so, the communication channels used to inform parents that they should contact the council to secure a school place for children with additional needs in a special class or special school; the budgetary allocation for such communication; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11808/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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681. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has any engagement with third parties, such as pre-schools, public nurses, the HSE, assessment of need providers, primary care centres, community centres and resource and family centres, to inform parents that they should contact the NCSE to secure a school place for children with additional needs. [11809/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 680 and 681 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.

In the Department of Education Circular, www.gov.ie/en/circular/f16ca-new-measures-to-support-the-forward-planning-for-special-education-provision/, it is indicated that parents seeking a special class or special school placement for their child for the coming academic year 2025/26 make contact with the NCSE.

The NCSE have set up a dedicated email address to be used by parents looking to contact us about special class/school placement. parentsnotify@ncse.ie is the dedicated NCSE email address you can use to make initial contact with them.

The NCSE advise my Department that they had significant engagement with special education advocacy groups, local Children's Disability Network Teams under the HSE and schools to ensure that parents were aware of the new requirement to notify them of a child's need for a special class or special school place. The NCSE at local level continue to update parents on new special classes and additional special school provision as it becomes available.

The NCSE is also progressing work on a new data sharing agreement with the Early Years Sector to ensure that they are aware of children with additional needs accessing supports under the ECCE programme and who may need supports and or a special class or special school placement when they start school.

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.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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682. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps and process the National Council for Special Education undertakes each year to identify demand for special classes and special school places in local areas, such as Dublin 15; if the council relies on parents contacting it directly or an overall national percentage is used as part of that process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11810/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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683. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether the NCSE has to report to her Department on the number of new special classes or special school classes are required in Dublin 15 for September 2025; and if so, when that report was received. [11811/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 682 and 683 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.

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. Of these 53 are in Dublin, 37 at primary and 16 at post primary level.

This will add to the 602 special classes currently in operation in the county. There are also 40 special schools in Dublin with approximately 2,600 students enrolled. Two of the five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year will open in Lucan and Belmayne also. These schools will open for enrolment shortly.

In Dublin and indeed nationwide, the NCSE continue to engage intensely with schools and school patron bodies to confirm further classes. As the NCSE progress the sanctioning of the remaining special classes they will inform parents.

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 SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.

In October 2024, my Department issued Circular Letter 0080/2024 to all schools which set out a number of new measures to support the forward planning of special school places. Among the measures introduced was a request that parents of children seeking a special class or special school placement notify the NCSE before 1 February. Dedicated contact points for parents were set at local level in different areas of the country.

This new notification process aims to ensure that the NCSE have a clearer picture of demand in local areas. Through the new common applications trial being run by 13 primary schools in Dublin 15, supported by the NCSE, the NCSE also have a very clear picture of the level of need for primary special class places in D15.

The NCSE is progressing the sanctioning of additional primary special classes across Dublin, including Dublin 15 this week and next. A number of post-primary special classes have already been sanctioned in the D15 area which the NCSE advise my Department should meet the level of need in the area for post-primary special class places. The NCSE are keeping parents informed at local level as new special classes are sanctioned.

The D15 Taskforce are due to report to me as Minister by the end of Q2 2025 and will be setting out further recommendations in relation to the forward planning of special education provision.

I have asked the NCSE to ensure that all new special classes for the 2026/2027 school year are sanctioned earlier to ensure that both parents and schools have clarity at an earlier stage regarding new special education places coming on stream.