Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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392. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of autism places available in primary schools in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s, Meakstown and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15264/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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393. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of autism places available in post primary schools in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s, Meakstown and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15265/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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394. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children on waiting lists to access autism places in primary schools in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Meakstown, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15266/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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395. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children on waiting lists to access autism places in post primary schools in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Meakstown, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15267/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 392, 393, 394 and 395 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.

The NCSE, in line with their statutory function, approach schools in relation to opening new special classes directly and the level of information and detail requested is held by them in order to perform this function. I will therefore share your request with the NCSE for a direct reply.

Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that 352 of these classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 66 are in Dublin, 48 at primary and 18 at post primary level.

This will add to the 602 special classes already sanctioned in Dublin, 455 in primary and 147 at post-primary level.

A complete list of special classes are available on the NCSE website.

In County 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 SENO's directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.

My Department does not have access to information on waiting lists for admission to schools. This is a matter for each school and the NCSE can access this information to assist with the forward planning of special education provision if necessary. All schools were asked to support NCSE access this information in Circular letter 0080/2024 issued by my Department to all schools.

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

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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396. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of reading school places available in primary schools in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Rolestown, Meakstown, St. Margaret’s and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15268/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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397. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of reading school places available in primary schools in Swords, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15269/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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398. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children on waiting lists to access a reading school place in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s, Meakstown and north Santry, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15270/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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399. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children on waiting lists to access a reading school place in Swords, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15271/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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400. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details of plans to open additional reading school places in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Balbriggan, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Rolestown, St. Margaret’s, Meakstown and north Santry for the 2025/2026 academic year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15272/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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401. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details of plans to open additional reading school places in Swords for the 2025/2026 academic year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15273/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 396, 397, 398, 399, 400 and 401 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.

The attached document provides a list of the fourteen reading classes and four special schools that support students with severe dyslexia and I want to acknowledge the excellent work they do. It is important to note they were established at a time when there were much fewer additional supports in schools to support students with specific learning disabilities.

In working to develop a more inclusive education system, we want to support students to attend their local mainstream schools. This means that children can be educated with their peers and are not required to travel long distances to attend special schools or classes.

15,000 special education teachers have been provided to enable schools to achieve this. In practical terms this means schools get a substantial additional teaching allocation to support children with special education needs who are in mainstream classes.

The additional resources are intended to support students with the greatest level of need, including those with severe dyslexia.

Of course, I recognise the importance of building the capacity of teachers in mainstream schools to meet the needs of all students. To support this, 338 places are funded each year to teachers to attend post-graduate special education needs programmes. The NCSE offers dedicated professional learning opportunities for teachers supporting students with additional needs. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) also provides professional learning opportunities that are available to all primary and post primary school teachers on supporting children and young people with literacy difficulties, including dyslexia.

Funding is also made available to schools for the purchase of specialised equipment to assist children. Schools can apply to the NCSE, through their local special educational needs organiser (SENO) for such support.

The need for any additional provision or resources for schools to support students with dyslexia is kept under constant review by the NCSE.

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.