Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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874. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of places available to children with special educational needs in counties Cavan and Monaghan; the additional places planned and the timeframe in which they will be delivered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59823/25]

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. The majority of these places are in special classes and have a teacher/student ratio of 1:6.

407 new special classes were sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 9 are in County Cavan, 6 at primary and 3 at post-primary level. This brings to 68 the number of special classes currently in operation in the county. There is also 1 special school in County Cavan with approximately 180 students enrolled.

In County Monaghan, 6 new classes were sanctioned, 4 at primary and 2 at post-primary level. This brings to 60 the number of special classes currently in operation in the county. One of the five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year opened in Castleblaney also.

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 counties Cavan and Monaghan.

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.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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875. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the exclusion of SEBD special schools from DEIS supports, particularly in cases where pupils have been transferred from DEIS-designated mainstream schools, thereby losing access to essential wraparound supports like HSCL officers and School Completion Programmes (details supplied). [59834/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of my department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.

This government is also fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to reach their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.

Special schools receive additional supports outside of the DEIS programme. Where children and young people require more specialised educational settings, such as special classes or special schools, the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE ensure that the necessary resources and supports for such placements are provided in line with the needs of the child or young person.

A higher rate of capitation is paid to special schools in recognition that these schools have additional challenges when supporting their enrolled students. The Department of Education and Youth has also introduced a number of initiatives aimed at providing specific supports to special schools, such as including additional administrative deputy principal posts, additional teaching posts, dedicated National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) supports and a priority of NCSE services including in the area of behaviour and training for special schools.

The Department of Education and Youth 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.