Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-16
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Marian Harkin (IND), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank Deputy Wall. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth.
First, the Minister is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 has secured funding for 3,000 new specialist places and the NCSE is currently examining where these places are best located for the 2026-27 school year.
Over 2,700 new places have already been provided for the 2025-26 school year. This means there are now 3,742 special classes nationwide. We will build on this figure next year placing specialist provision where it can best meet existing and future demand. In County Kildare, 148 special classes are now in operation, providing capacity for 888 students. This includes 17 new special classes for this year. In addition, 16 new special schools have been established in recent years.
Special school capacity has also been expanded across a number of special schools nationwide. Six of these special schools are in County Kildare, educating approximately 359 students with the most complex of special educational needs. These schools are supported by the Department and the NCSE.
The NCSE will have a clear picture of local demand for special class places in the 2026-27 school year after it reviews and assesses all of the information that has been provided through the parents’ notification process, which closed on 1 October. The NCSE expects to start sanctioning new special classes for the 2026-27 school year shortly and the Department and the NCSE continue to consider options for increasing special school capacity.
This can be achieved either through the expansion of existing special schools or the establishment of new special schools. A key focus will be on establishing new special classes in schools without an existing special class such as the school referred to by the Deputy, Scoil Bhríde in Lackagh. I recognise the crucial importance of the matter raised by the Deputy having listened to many of the testimonials provided by him.
An earlier notification deadline was introduced this year to support forward planning and to equip the NCSE with timely local information on those students leaving school, transitioning to post-primary specialist places or seeking specialist placement and entering the education system for the first time. This information is critical when examining where provision needs to be placed to meet demand. The NCSE will also have due regard to any vacant places in existing special classes in an area and any places that will be become available through the normal movement of children leaving primary or post-primary school. I stress that the NCSE will continue to support all children made known to it after this date. However, it is critical that the NCSE has timely access to local knowledge to effectively plan future provision.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16