Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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1039. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the opening of a special school (details supplied). [47331/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is a priority for this Government. It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

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. This is in keeping with policy on an inclusive education, which promotes that children will be supported to receive an education in the most inclusive setting possible.

Special schools support children and young people aged between 4 and 18 years of age with the most complex special educational needs and ensure positive links are established and fostered between the home, school and other agencies for these children.

There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school places to support children with complex needs. To meet this need, sixteen new special schools have been established in recent years, and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. Five of these were 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.

Arrangements are in train to provide accommodation to facilitate the expansion of South Kildare Special School for the 2025/26 school year. It is intended that existing modular accommodation will be repurposed to facilitate this. It is anticipated this will be available to the school by December 2025. The school patron Kildare Wicklow Education Training Board (ETB) in consultation with the NCSE is currently making contingency arrangements for the children referred to by the Deputy in the intervening period. My Department is aware that the school is engaging directly with the parents in this regard.

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 at South Kildare Special School.