Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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505. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the National Council for Special Education records and reports local demand for autism-specific school placements; the number of eligibility letters issued by special educational needs organisers; the way in which this data is used to ensure sufficient autism-specific class and special school places are available within each locality; and the measures being taken to ensure that all eligible children will have access to a suitable placement for the 2026-2027 school year, particularly in areas where parents report being advised to apply to multiple schools due to a lack of transparency and coordination in provision planning. [61338/25]

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.

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 families 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 earlier date will allow for earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026/27 school year.

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.

Budget 2026 has provided funding for 3,000 new special educational places within our education system and extensive research was completed over the summer to identify schools with available accommodation in which new classes can be established. The NCSE is now matching these schools with known local demand based on the parent's notify process.

In order to ensure new special classes can open as quickly as possible the NCSE prioritise working with medium and larger primary schools who do not already have a special class and have available accommodation to accommodate new special class. This approach maximises the use of existing space which can be reconfigured efficiently while also ensuring that new provision continues to be established. It also increases the number of schools with special classes providing parents with greater choice and reducing the distances that some children are travelling to access a special class place.

However, as in other years where schools have no available accommodation, particularly at post-primary level and there is known demand in a local area, my department will continue to provide additional classroom accommodation to provide necessary places.

The NCSE is currently collating the data and information received by 1 October through the parents notify process and are engaging with schools regarding where specialist provision is best placed for the 2026/27 school year. It is envisioned that the majority of these special classes will be sanctioned by 31 December 2025.

Where new special classes are sanctioned by the NCSE, it is envisaged that those schools would open for admissions in the new year.

I would like to stress that the NCSE will continue to support all children made known to them after the October deadline also in their existing placement, however, it is important for planning purposes that we set an earlier timeframe for which the NCSE has as much local knowledge and detail as possible in order to plan what new provision is required.