Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students in Galway city, due to enter special classes in second level this year, who had not secured places by the end of the 2024-2025 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49542/25]

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.

407 new special classes have been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 12 are in County Galway, 8 at primary and 4 at post primary level. This brings to the 180 the number of special classes currently in operation in the county. There are also 7 special schools in County Galway with 352 approximately students enrolled.

A new parents notification process was introduced by the NCSE for this school year. Almost 3,300 notifications from families of children and young people seeking a special class or special school place for the 2025/2026 school year were received by the NCSE by the mid-February cut off. Through the provision of over 2,700 new special class and special school places and the availability of approximately 1,200 places through the normal annual movement of students from primary to post-primary and finishing post-primary and special schools, sufficient capacity has been created for children and young people known to the NCSE for the start of this school year 2025/2026.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning for the next school year 2026/2027, 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 information 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 NCSE will be actively communicating this requirement nationally also.

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.

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.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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249. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students in Galway city, due to enter mainstream classes in second level this year, who had not secured places by the end of the 2024-2025 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49543/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority of mine.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €224 million in school infrastructure across County Galway. The department is continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place.

My department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas, including Galway City, for the 2025/26 school year. The department has put in place a number of measures to support post-primary schools with a view to helping the admissions process for 2025/26 run as smoothly as possible.

Furthermore, the data sharing arrangements that were in place for the 2024/25 admissions process were put in place again for the 2025/26 admissions process in school planning areas that are experiencing enrolment pressures, including Galway City. The admissions data provided by schools allows the department to analyse duplicate applications as there can be significant overlap in areas. My department’s analysis of the Galway City school planning area highlights that there are more places available that sixth class students.

My department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. The availability of places is a matter for each individual school in the context of their Admissions legislation. The specific data requested by the Deputy is not available at this time.

In order to assist with the enrolment of children without a school place, the department shares information on available capacity with the Education Welfare Service which is part of TESS and which operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation, and retention.

The Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers. Contact details are available on Tusla’s website. My department will continue to work to ensure every child across the country including in Galway city school planning area has a school place.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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250. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions that have been taken by her Department, and its agencies, to support students who have not yet secured a school place for the year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49544/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority of mine.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.

The annual enrolment process for new Junior Infants at primary and new First Years at post-primary is a very large-scale operation that is transacted at close to 4,000 schools across the country, involving some 140,000 pupils. It is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area, and school of choice factors. Notwithstanding the above, in some areas demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places.

The department has taken a number of steps to help ensure the admissions process for 2025/26 runs smoothly, including improvements to the Post Primary Online Database student registration system to help identify students that have accepted multiple places, writing to parents of sixth class children with advice on the admissions process, and strengthening the data-sharing arrangements with schools in areas of enrolment pressure.

In order to assist with the enrolment of children without a school place, the department shares information on available capacity with the Education Welfare Service which is part of Tusla’s Educational Support Service (TESS) and which operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation, and retention.

The Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers. Contact details are available on Tusla’s website.

While some applicants may not yet have received an offer of a school place for 2025/26, families can be assured that all children who require a school place will be provided with one.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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251. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that have been taken to improve the school admission system; if she is aware of groups of parents forming to call for improvements to be made to the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49545/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The rollout of the pilot Single Online Application for Schools marks a significant step towards improving the school admission system and fulfilling the Programme for Government commitment to introduce a nationwide common application system.

As the Deputy will be aware, the pilot will involve five towns: Athenry, Celbridge, Clonakilty, Greystones, and Tullamore. Other areas will be taken into consideration for future iterations of the pilot.

The pilot will provide a single online application form for parents or guardians who want to apply for a first-year place for their child in participating schools, including for special classes. Parents will be able to apply to any or all schools within their pilot area on one online application.

In recent years, demographic shifts and increasing demand for special class provision for students with special educational needs have placed growing pressure on school admissions across the country. Duplicate applications, families choosing specific schools, and students applying from outside the local area can make it seem like schools are more full than they are. These factors can give an incomplete picture of how many places are available in schools.

In response to these challenges and a commitment in the Programme for Government to reforming the admissions process, my department is working towards a nationwide common application system. As a first step, the pilot Single Online Application for Schools is set to launch in October 2025 for the 2026/27 admissions cycle. This initiative aims to streamline the application process, improve transparency, and support more effective planning and equitable access to school places. Importantly, it also aims to lay the groundwork for a robust, nationwide system.

Applications will open from 01 October 2025 for first year post-primary school places in September 2026 and detailed information for parents and guardians will be available shortly. I can assure the Deputy that my department is continuing to work closely with schools, patrons, management bodies and other key stakeholders in the five pilot areas.