Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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479. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special schools in Ireland, broken down by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28945/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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480. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students each special school has, broken down by school and by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28946/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 479 and 480 together.

Please find attached requested data for academic years 2023-2024, it being the latest year we have published final enrolment data.

">data for academic years 2023-2024

We expect to publish final data for academic year 2024-2025 shortly and we will revert to the deputy with the data for 2024-2025 when it has been published.

Enrolment data is taken from the Primary Online Database as per the annual published school lists which can be found at the link below. All enrolments are as per the census date, 30th September 2023.

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/primary-schools-enrolment-figures/.

There 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 review 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 and will continue to review and monitor the situation nationwide as to where new special schools are required.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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481. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special schools across Ireland have outdoor play equipment, broken down by school and by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28947/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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With regard to new special schools being constructed and the associated external play areas, these areas will be agreed when the overall building design and optimum site layouts have been evaluated with input from the design team and agreed with the Department at the pre-stage 1 architectural planning meeting.

A multi-purpose games area, a junior play area with soft play surface, sensory garden and external break-out areas from classrooms where feasible should be included. For example with a new 20-classroom special school, the Department would look to include the following:

• 1 Multi-purpose games area 585sqm
• 1 Junior play area 200sqm
• 1 sensory garden 200sqm
• 20 external soft play areas (50sqm each) -external secure spaces directly accessible from classrooms where feasible.

It is open to special schools to use their minor works grant to fund the provision of playground equipment for their school.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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482. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funds are available for special schools that wish to install an outdoor play area for sensory play; if so, to detail these funds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28948/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.

The option is open to submit an EWS application for funding for a sensory garden under the universal access category. Once received, the application will be assessed and the EWS team will engage with the school as appropriate.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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483. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the Government policy for outdoor play facilities for special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28949/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of General Purpose (GP) rooms and PE Halls, at primary and post primary level respectively, as well as outdoor hard play areas form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. My Department provides different size PE Halls and GP rooms depending on the size of the post-primary or primary school.

At primary level, a 195m2 GP room is provided as standard as part of new 8 to 16 classroom school buildings, with larger primary schools, with 24 or more mainstream classes, being provided with twice this size. At post primary level, smaller new post primary school buildings are provided with a 406m2 PE Hall, with schools designed for 450 or more students provided with a larger, 594m2 Hall.

The GP rooms and PE Halls form part of a suite of ancillary facilities provided as part of new school buildings. At primary level, new school buildings additionally include a Library, Multi-purpose room, Special Education Tuition rooms, and offices. The accommodation provided for new primary schools to support children with special educational needs also includes a Central Activities Space, Multi-Activity Room, Daily Living Skills facility and Quiet Spaces.

At post primary level, new school buildings include a GP room as well as a PE Hall, Social Areas, Pastoral Offices, Special Education Tuition rooms and a Fitness Suite. As at primary level, accommodation provided in new post primary school buildings for students with special educational needs also includes significant ancillary facilities.

In addition, my Department’s Design Guidelines for all new schools provides for outdoor multi-use games areas (or hard play areas) and the level of play space provided varies with the size of school. For example, a new 24 classroom primary school with Special Education Needs classes is provided with 3 ball courts, 2 junior play areas, as well as a Secure hard and soft play area and a Sensory Garden.

In respect of new post-primary schools, a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school will be provided with 6 ball courts and a secure hard and soft special education play area.

The accommodation and facilities provided as part of new school building projects have been designed to meet the curricular and operational needs of schools, including the delivery of the Physical Education curriculum. At primary level, the General Purpose room can be utilised to support the provision of PE, but it is important to note that the PE curriculum permits schools flexibility in its implementation, and supports a broad and balanced approach, taking account of the varying indoor and outdoor facilities available.

With regard to new special schools being constructed and the associated external play areas, these areas will be agreed when the overall building design and optimum site layouts have been evaluated with input from the design team and agreed with the Department at the pre-stage 1 architectural planning meeting.

A multi-purpose games area, a junior play area with soft play surface, sensory garden and external break-out areas from classrooms where feasible should be included. For example with a new 20-classroom special school, the Department would look to include the following:

• 1 Multi-purpose games area 585sqm
• 1 Junior play area 200sqm
• 1 sensory garden 200sqm
• 20 external soft play areas (50sqm each) -external secure spaces directly accessible from classrooms where feasible.