Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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604. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the nationwide pilot plan to redistribute therapists through 16 selected special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24111/25]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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605. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which she plans to address the recruitment challenges currently being experienced by phase 1 and phase 2 of the nationwide pilot plan to redistribute therapists through 16 selected special schools. [24112/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 605 and 604 together.

The enhanced in-school therapy supports pilot commenced in September 2024 in Cork and Dublin on a phased implementation basis for the six selected schools. An additional ten schools, in Cork, Dublin and Galway were announced as part of the pilot on 8th November 2024 with phased onboarding of schools to the pilot over the course of the 2024/2025 academic year.

Based on updates received as part of the ongoing engagement with colleagues in DCDE and the Health Service Executive (HSE) we can advise recruitment for Phase 1 of the pilot is well advanced, with recruitment for Phase 2 ongoing.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) advises that in the Cork area all four schools in phase one and two schools in phase two of the pilot have filled the therapy posts assigned as through the pilot.

In Dublin, one school has filled all therapy posts allocated as part of phase 1 of the pilot and the remaining Dublin school has one post outstanding. Recruitment efforts are ongoing for the remaining posts in phase 1 and phase 2. Recruitment for Phase 2 is also ongoing in Galway to achieve the full complement of resources.

While recruitment efforts are ongoing, the children in each of the sixteen special schools continue to receive supports through their local CDNT.

There is a shortage of therapists in Ireland at this time. In terms of managing the recruitment and retention of therapists and following on from the Programme for Government’s commitment to increase training places for crucial disciplines, my Department is engaging with colleagues in the Department of Health, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science alongside the Department for Children,Disability and Equality and the HSE to ensure an increase in training places for key disciplines such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists as a matter of priority.

Within my own remit, it is my intention to prioritise the Programme for Government commitment to introduce a National Therapy Service in education, commencing in special schools and subsequently extending to schools with special classes and mainstream provision. This service will be delivered by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), building on the NCSE’s work previously completed through the Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS).

It is intended that the National Therapy Service will commence in some special schools at a later stage in the 2025/26 school year. Further roll out of the service will occur on a phased basis with a wider roll-out commencing in the 2026/27 school year. Initially the service will include the disciplines of Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy, over time further disciplines such as physiotherapy may be included.

Officials in the Department of Education have begun engagement will with relevant Departments and agencies on the design, timelines, alignment, integrated working and costings involved to deliver this ambitious programme of work.