Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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381. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost to expand the in-school therapy programme by a factor of 100%, doubling, in effect, the number of permanent expert therapists operating under ETSS. [33597/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

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.

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).

ETSS therapists and their relevant salary scale align with the consolidated salary scales of the HSE.

As there are number of variables to be considered when calculating the cost of expanding the in-school programme by a factor of100%, such as therapist grade and length of service, I have attached a summary table for the various grades extracted from the HSE consolidated salary scales of the 1st March 2025 for your information.