Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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367. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department maintains data on the number of teachers currently assigned to special education needs classes who hold specific qualifications or accredited training in dyslexia support, structured literacy instruction, or numeracy interventions; if not, the reason for the absence of such data; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56476/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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368. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has assessed the extent to which unqualified or non-registered personnel are currently delivering special education support, including literacy and numeracy interventions, in mainstream schools; the rationale for permitting such practice; the safeguards in place to ensure quality and consistency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56477/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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369. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will consider introducing mandatory, accredited training modules in dyslexia support and numeracy intervention for all those assigned to special education needs roles in mainstream settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56478/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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370. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has conducted a workforce planning analysis for areas of high population growth such as Fingal, specifically in relation to the availability of teachers with specialist training in dyslexia, literacy and numeracy support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56479/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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371. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the mechanisms in place to monitor the quality and consistency of special education provision in mainstream schools, particularly in relation to literacy and numeracy support for children with dyslexia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56480/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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372. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department tracks the uptake and impact of professional development programmes related to dyslexia and numeracy support among teachers assigned to special education needs roles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56481/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 367, 368, 369, 370, 371 and 372 together.

The Department of Education aims to facilitate every individual through learning, to achieve their full potential and to ensure that the education system upholds the rights of every individual to receive an education appropriate to their needs.

To support this, there has been significant growth and investment in disability and special education related supports for students in Ireland. In 2025, €2.9 billion has been allocated, a €159 million increase on 2024. This funding will deliver up to 2,700 new special educational places, an additional 768 teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants. This will mean we will have over 44,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

In addition, there have been changes to special education support and funding structures which seek to include greater numbers of students with disabilities in mainstream education.

These changes have been underpinned by a policy of inclusion and influenced by a combination of international and national developments. These include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) which was a significant driver for policy change in educational provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Current Department of Education policy is based on a continuum of provision for children and young people with special educational needs, ranging from fulltime placement in mainstream settings to specialist provision, including special schools and classes.

Since 2017, and the introduction of a needs-based approach the Department allocates additional teaching supports directly to schools through the special education teaching (SET) model. This aims to ensure that those with the highest level of need have access to the greatest level of support in a timely and flexible manner, without the requirement for a diagnosis of disability.

The special education teaching model recognises that effective provision for children with special educational needs is situated within an inclusive whole-school framework. This is underpinned by effective teaching and learning for all, and meaningful collaboration and engagement between teachers, parents/guardians, children, and other professionals, where appropriate.

The inspectorate evaluates provision for children and young people with special educational needs in all inspection models, including Whole-School Evaluations and evaluations of provision for specific subjects of the curriculum. In addition, the Inspectorate has two specific models that focus on provision for children and young people with special educational needs. One of these models is used in primary schools and the other is used in post-primary schools. Each school receives a written report following most of these evaluations and these reports are also published on gov.ie. In 2024, the Inspectorate published a composite report on the outcomes of these inspections: Towards High-Quality Learning Experiences for All: Provision for children and young people with special educational needs in primary and post-primary schools -

The Inspectorate also conducts a number of focused inspections that evaluate specific aspects of provision for children and young people with special educational needs. Some of these models are short, unannounced inspections and other are medium-scale evaluations which involve prior notification to the school. The Inspectorate publishes the outcomes of these inspections in its Annual Report and also through published thematic reports.

In planning the inspection programme, including inspections of special schools, the Inspectorate adopts a risk-based approach based on a range of criteria in relation to schools. These criteria include the inspection history of individual schools, the findings of previous inspections such as incidental inspections, and other relevant information received by the Department and the Inspectorate about the school.

Providing inclusive education to children with special educational needs is a fundamental principle of the education system. This principle is observed through Department policies, Teaching Council requirements for initial teacher education, curriculum provision and the range of supports provided to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and Oide. Schools are supported through building the capacity of teachers to deliver an inclusive education system.

The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher.

Central to Initial Teacher Education policy in Ireland is that all teachers teaching children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) should be qualified Primary or Post-primary teachers in the first instance.

Inclusive education is a mandatory element of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. Within further updated standards which the Teaching Council adopted in 2020, known as Céim Standards for Initial Teacher Education, inclusive education was further strengthened as one of seven core elements which must underpin all aspects of programmes of ITE.

Furthermore, the department has initiated a process to move towards a mandatory assessed placement period in a special education needs setting for all student teachers. As part of this, it is envisaged the Teaching Council, on behalf of the department, has conducted a survey across all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers to gain a deeper understanding of the current landscape of school placement provision in special education settings. This will support the consideration of the Teaching Council in the development and approval of a Guidance Note for Higher Education Institutions, around an assessed student placement period in a SEN setting, working with a view to supporting initial change in September 2026.

Additionally, funded by the Department, Oide works with teachers and school leaders to provide ongoing support and professional development, which promotes inclusive practices.

The Department funds over 300 places on postgraduate professional development programmes in collaboration with HEI nationally.

The Department provides a suite of professional development programmes developed and delivered by NEPS in supporting children and young people with literacy difficulties and dyslexia.

The NCSE provides supports to teachers and schools in a way that builds capacity, supports the inclusion of all children, including students with special educational needs, at a whole school level. The NCSE Support Service manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified teacher training needs. This included Teacher Professional Learning (TPL). The NCSE continues to update current TPL courses and design new courses in response to the needs of teachers. The NCSE provides a suite of teacher professional learning programmes including programmes on supporting children with dyslexia in mainstream schools.

The Department does not maintain records regarding the additional qualifications of qualified teachers however, my department is committed to ensuring that all teachers, at primary and post-primary level, have the skills they need to support the diverse needs of all our children and young people in our schools. It is critical that our teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to continue to deliver high quality and inclusive education.