Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a list of schools in Mayo which are due to open autism classes in September 2025; the names of schools which were due to open autism classes but which are not now proceeding; to provide the reasons scheduled autism classes may not be opening in September; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39774/25]

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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136. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children that will be affected by the decision not to open autism classes in Mayo which had been scheduled to open in September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39775/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 136 together.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is, in the first instance, the primary body responsible for the matter the Deputy has raised. I have forwarded this issue to them for their attention and direct reply.

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

The NSCE has sanctioned 407 special classes for the 2025/26 school year, of these three are in County Mayo. This will add to the 72 special classes currently in operation in the county. The list of schools with special classes for the 2025/26 school year is available on the NCSE website.

During the planning process a number of schools may be approached to consider opening a special class in their locality. It is preferred that schools with existing accommodation and no existing special class are given preference in this regard. This allows schools to open classes more quickly and also ensures that more schools provide specialist provision providing more diverse options for parents in their local areas. In order to ensure resources are utilised to the maximum, additional classes are only sanctioned where there is known demand and where existing classes have been fully utilised. This ensures resources are allocated to classes where they required, when they are required.

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. The willingness of schools to open a special class is to be commended and these schools will be considered further for the 2026/27 school year.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements will be available for children for this coming school year and future years.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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121. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children still without an appropriate school place for September; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39848/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the national agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. This year the NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year bringing to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. There are new classes in every county in Ireland and with the number of special classes doubling in the last five years, this now means that there are more classes than ever ensuring greater numbers of children can access places in their local school. Furthermore the number of special class places in our schools will exceed demand.

Combined with 300 new special school places this brings to 2,700 the number of new school places for children with special educational needs.

This year, the approach taken was to maximise the use of existing accommodation in schools to ensure new special classes could open as quickly as possible for the 2025/26 school year. The NCSE also prioritised schools which did not have an existing special class. This has ensured that 80% of the new classes sanctioned are in schools with available accommodation.

Where schools require modular accommodation for new special classes, these projects are being fast-tracked by my department to deliver this accommodation as early as possible. In a small number of instances where a delay in new special class accommodation is expected such as where new modular classrooms are being provided, contingency arrangements are being made with the relevant schools with the support of the NCSE.

The NCSE has advised my Department that the vast majority of children seeking a special school or special class place have now been assigned a school place. They are working very closely with the remaining families to ensure that they are being kept updated as the remaining special class and special school places are being finalised by a small number of schools.