Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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467. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has considered opening a special school specifically for the areas of Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas in order to cater for demand in these areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16628/25]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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468. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how many new autism classes are intended to be opened in primary schools for the coming school year in Rathcoole, County Dublin; how many new places will be available; in what schools; what work is ongoing to ensure suitable school places for all children in the area who require them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16629/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 467 and 468 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. 2,700 new places are being created and these together with the over 1,200 existing places available for enrolment will mean there is close to 4,000 places available for the coming school year. This significant level of provision means that the department and NCSE have created sufficient capacity for the children whose parents and schools have identified as requiring a place.Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that 375 of these classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. The attached list provides a breakdown of the classes sanctioned in Dublin to dateas.ie/ie/oireachtas/debates/questions/supportingDocumentation/2025-04-08_pq468-8-04-2025_en.pdf">Info].This will add to the 602 special classes already sanctioned in Dublin, 455 in primary and 147 at post-primary level. 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.A list of all mainstream and special schools is available on my department's website on gov.ie. In addition, a list of schools with special classes; broken by location and class designation is 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 remaining classes. As the NCSE progress the sanctioning of the remaining special classes they will inform parents.My department has requested the NCSE to work closely with schools and families to ensure that these children access places as quickly as possible. My department has also written to all schools opening new special classes asking them to commence their admission processes as quickly as possible.There also continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, eleven new special schools have been established in recent years and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. Five more special schools will be established for the 2025/26 school year in counties, Cork, Dublin (2), Monaghan and Tipperary. The new special schools established over recent years have focused on providing additional places in our largest urban areas – Dublin and Cork. The department and NCSE have already begun planning in relation to further expanding special school capacity for the 2026/27 school year. It is estimated that a further 300 new special school places may be required each year for the coming years.When looking to provide additional capacity the department’s preferred option is to increase provision in existing special schools if possible. Where this is not possible in a region, the department and NCSE will consider the need to establish a new special school.In planning for increased special school places, the department and NCSE are reviewing all of the available data on the growing need for special school places across the country. This involves a detailed analysis of enrolment trends and the potential for existing special schools in a region to expand. Part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansion is required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education appropriate to their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information the NCSE hold at local level on the number of children seeking a special school place in a region.My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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469. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of children in Dublin mid-west who require placements in a special school or autism class, but who are currently attending mainstream classes due to a lack of suitable school places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16630/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The majority of children with special education needs in this country are supported by their classroom teachers, special education teachers and SNAs to attend mainstream classes with their peers. This is considered the most inclusive environment for children with special education needs and ensures that children can attend their local school. My department has significantly increased the resources available to support children with special educational needs in mainstream provision with 15,000 special education teachers and over 12,500 SNAs.

Where children have more complex needs a special class or special school is provided. Through the 2,700 new places being created and the over 1,200 places in existing special classes and schools, there are close to 4,000 places available for the coming school year. This significant level of provision means that the department and NCSE have created sufficient capacity for the children whose parents and schools have identified to them as requiring a place.

What is important here is that children have access to a placement that is appropriate to their needs and that is why in October 2024, my department issued a circular letter to all schools setting out a range of new measures to support the forward planning of special education. Among the new measures introduced was a request for parents of children seeking a special education placement, including children already attending mainstream classes, to notify the NCSE. This was to ensure that the NCSE had a clear picture of the children in mainstream who may have needed a special placement. The number of special education needs organisers (SENO) also increased from 65 to 120 at the start of this school year and this has helped to ensure that the NCSE have greater clarity on the level of need for special education places for children, including children in mainstream classes.

Up to an additional 2,700 specialist places will be provided for the coming school year. The NCSE has already sanctioned 375 new special classes, and they are engaging intensely with schools and school patron bodies to confirm additional special classes as soon as possible. Of these 264 are at primary and 111 at post primary level.

This will add to the 3,335 special classes currently in operation in the country. There are also 129 special schools in the county with approximately 9,000 students enrolled. Five of these are new special schools for 2025/26 school year and will open for enrolment shortly.

The scale of increased provision in special schools and special classes as well as the strong supports for mainstream means that children with special educational needs are accessing education appropriate to their needs regardless of their educational setting.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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470. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if any funding is available to primary schools to assist in acquiring a vehicle for use by patrons of an ASD class for trips and so on, where current funding does not cover such costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16631/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes over 143,800 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 21,700 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine.

The scheme is made up of three separate schemes, the school transport scheme for primary, post primary and for children with special educational needs. Transport is also provided for children who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine and those residing in IPAS/EROC centres.

The total expenditure on the scheme in 2024 was €512m.

The School Transport Schemes are intended to cater for children providing school transport from home/pick up point to school and from school to home/drop off point during normal school opening and closing times. The request detailed by the Deputy is not a feature of the schemes and is therefore outside of the Department of Education remit.