Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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858. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to increase the number of special education places in Limerick city schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59751/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with special educational needs.

Through the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school places over recent years, there are now over 30,000 students enrolled in special classes and special schools. 2,700 new places were created for the 2025/26 school year and these, together with the over 1,200 existing places due to students moving on from primary schools and post primary schools, has meant that close to 4,000 specialist places were made available for the 2025/26 school year.

Of the 407 new special classes sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year 18 were established in County Limerick, 14 at primary and 4 at post-primary level. This brings to 164 the number of special classes currently in operation in the county. There are also 6 special schools in County Limerick with approximately 570 students enrolled.

When looking to provide additional special school capacity the department’s preferred option is to increase provision in existing special schools if possible. Where this is not possible in a region, my department and the NCSE will consider the need to establish a new special school. My department and NCSE monitor the need for additional special school capacity very closely and will continue to monitor the situation in County Limerick.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department published Circular 0039/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning 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 was set for parents to do so.

This notification process 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.

Once the NCSE has fully collated and assessed this information, the NCSE will be in a position to engage with schools across the country to open new special classes. The NCSE will also have due regard to any vacant places in existing special classes in an area and any places that will become available through the normal movement of children leaving primary or post-primary school.

It is envisioned that the majority of new special classes for the 2026/27 school year will be sanctioned by 31 December 2025. My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available in every county.