Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child (details supplied) with a diagnosis of autism and a clear recommendation for one-on-one SNA support in a mainstream class has been refused by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38100/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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, including the allocation of special needs assistants (SNAs). The NCSE has advised my department that all schools have been informed of their SNA allocation for the 2025/26 school year.

As the NCSE is responsible for the allocation of SNAs to schools, I have forwarded the school's details to them for their attention and direct reply.

Deputies are also welcome to raise such matters with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas query line at oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie.

It is open to any school which feels like it has insufficient SNA support to meet the needs of its students to submit to the NCSE a request seeking a review of its allocation. Detailed information on the NCSE's SNA review process is published on the NCSE's website.

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.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if autism classes will commence in schools (details supplied) in September 2026, as previously indicated by the NCSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38106/25]

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

My department works closely with the NCSE on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. Building on successive budgets, Budget 2025 secured funding for up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools, and an additional 300 special school places for the 2025/26 school year. This will deliver 2,700 new places for children.

The information held on the department's Geographical Information System (GIS), particularly in relation to student demographics, is a key component when forecasting the need for additional special class and special school places. My department and the NCSE have undertaken analysis of the trends in special class and special school provision over recent years by county and local school planning area. In total there are 314 local school planning areas.

My department and the NCSE identify the need for special educational provision with consideration to demographical and statistical data and in regard to an areas existing school provision and future capability. In addition, 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 NCSE hold at local level on the number of children seeking a special school place in a region.

Looking forward my department and the NCSE have begun preparatory work in relation to planning for the provision of further new special class and special school places for the 2026/27 school year and beyond.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department recently published Circular 0039/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of new measures introduced to support forward planning going forward and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child. An earlier date of 1 October has been set in which parents must do so. This notification will provide the NCSE with valuable insights as to which children will continue to require a special class as they progress to post primary level and details on students who require a place for the first time.

The earlier date will also allow for earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026/27 school year, and it is the aim of the NCSE to sanction the majority of new special classes by 31 December 2025. It is envisaged that the NCSE will be engaging with schools early in the new school year in relation to opening special classes for the following school year 2026/2027. It is too early to say what specific schools may be approached and this is an operational matter for the NCSE to consider within the broader forward planning arrangements.

This new parents notify process, which was introduced for the first time this year ensures that the NCSE have a clearer lens on the level of need for special class and special school places and the particular needs of children and young people. This is a key element when NCSE approach schools to establish a particular type of special class. The vast majority of children and young people being notified to the NCSE continue to require an autism special class.

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

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to supporting the upskilling of parents and carers to fill the capacity gap for special needs assistants whilst ensuring that their carer's allowance is not affected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38107/25]

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

SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools. They help ensure that these students can access an education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

By the end of the year there will be close to 21,000 special educational teachers and 23,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,000 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

Budget 2025 has secured additional funding, bringing investment in the Summer Programme to €62 million, the largest investment to date. It will provide targeted resources for primary and post primary schools to help with planning and transitioning for children with special educational needs. A dedicated special education innovation fund will be established in recognition of the need to continually evolve and examine best practice to support children with special educational needs. In addition, it provides additional funding for enhanced training for teachers and SNAs and provides additional grant funding to external bodies to assist with supports for children with special educational needs.

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. My Department is not aware of any challenges for schools in terms of recruiting SNAs and schools normally report that SNA vacant positions are filled quickly. The proposed new SNA redeployment scheme will assist with this as well and will provide continuity of employment for serving SNAs.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if any details will be provided as to the number of children in Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 who are currently seeking autism classes and places in special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38108/25]

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

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 in 2025 and these, together with the over 1,200 existing places which will become available due to children and young people moving on from primary schools and post primary schools, will mean that there is close to 4,000 places available for the coming school year. The NCSE has engaged in a process with parents and schools to identify children requiring a place for the 2025/26 school year and the 3,900 places available should meet the need that exists.

Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that 399 of these classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 98 are in County Dublin, 79 at primary and 19 at post primary level.

This will add to the 602 special classes currently in operation in the county. 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.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department recently published Circular 0039/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of new measures introduced to support forward planning going forward and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child. An earlier date of 1 October has been set in which parents must do so. This notification will provide the NCSE with valuable insights as to which children will continue to require a special class as they progress to post primary level and details on students who require a place for the first time.

The earlier date will also allow for earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026/27 school year, and it is the aim of the NCSE to sanction the majority of new special classes by 31 December 2025.

This new parents notify process, which was introduced for the first time this year ensures that the NCSE have a clearer lens on the level of need for special class and special school places and the particular needs of children and young people. This is a key element when NCSE approach schools to establish a particular type of special class. The vast majority of children and young people being notified to the NCSE continue to require an autism special class.

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

The NCSE has advised that just under 3,300 valid notifications were received by mid-February via their new parent notify service. Some of these notifications were children already known to the NCSE however, many others were new. Also, while parents were asked to notify the NCSE by mid-February the NCSE continues to receive notifications and continues to review reports and recommendations for specialist placement as appropriate.

It is not possible to give detailed county breakdowns as there are some children with dual recommendations for both special class and special schools, and we know that in some areas close to county boundaries children will in fact take up a place in a school just outside their own county area.

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.