Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1163. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will urgently intervene to resolve the situation at school (details supplied), where an approved ASD class has been supressed; the steps her Department is taking to ensure that these children receive the appropriate support and placement in line with their assessed needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42856/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As you are aware the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special class and special school places are provided.

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.

The school referred to by the Deputy has an existing special class and had worked with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) collaboratively to open a second special class if required for the coming 2025/26 school year. Recent engagement by the NCSE with the school confirms that the first special class has remaining capacity and there is insufficient local need to open the second special class at this time.

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 school's willingness to open a second class is to be commended and 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 school year and future years.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of WTE SNA posts in each county in the 2024 to 2025 school year; the provisional allocation for same in 2025 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42890/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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.

The NCSE have published SNA allocations for the 2024/25 and 2025/2026 school years on the NCSE's . For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and county. ?

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

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1165. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of active special classes by county in the 2024 to 2025 school year; the provisional allocation for same in 2025 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42891/25]

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1266. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the student to special class ratio in each county based on the provision effective from September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43914/25]

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 have been created for the 2025/26 school year and these, together with the over 1,200 existing places which have become available due to children and young people moving on from primary schools and post primary schools, will mean that close to 4,000 specialist places are available for the coming school year.

The NCSE sanction classes based on local known demand and advise that 407 new special classes have now been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. The vast majority of these classes are autism classes and have a teacher/student ration of 1:6.

The NCSE is confident that this new provision when added to the existing provision will meet the known demand for the 2025/26 school year. The NCSE publish the list of active special classes annually on the NCSE website ncse.ie/special-classes. A county breakdown of special classes by county for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school year is also attached.

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