Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Eoghan Kenny (LAB), Cork North-Central

I raise a deeply serious and sensitive issue, namely, children with additional needs and their rights to an appropriate education. In recent weeks, I have spoken directly with parents who are anxious and in many cases still without clarity on where their child will go to school this September. The Tánaiste knows it himself. Every parent asks the same simple question this time of the year, "Where is my child going to school in September?" However, for these families, that question is still unanswered. When I raised this with the Taoiseach, he spoke about the exponential growth in demand but could not guarantee that every child will get an appropriate place.
The Government cannot say it was not aware of this. At a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts three weeks ago, I put it directly to Department officials and they confirmed that a memo was going to Government on this increased demand. When I asked whether Government was aware of the situation, I was told clearly that the leaders of the Government are aware that a substantially increased need is coming but I had to press this point because while awareness of the need is one thing, the real issue is whether resources match that need. Despite repeated questioning, the answer was clear, that the analysis is still ongoing to ensure the State can meet that need. In other words, we are not yet in a position as a State to say that resources will fully match demand. This is not just about growth. This is about the gap between rights and resources.
I acknowledge there has been progress but too often provision remains reactive. Families are still facing uncertainty about long distances and last-minute placements. We know a memo is going to Government to address this but families do not deal in memos. They deal in deadlines. They need to know now whether their child will have a school place, whether it will be appropriate and whether it will be close to home. If I can put it plainly, parents are not asking for perfection; they are asking for certainty.
There is also the wider issue of planning. The State still does not have a fully centralised system to measure and forecast need, which means we are constantly reacting instead of preparing. Does the Tánaiste agree we need a centralised system through the National Council for Special Education? There are three direct questions for the Tánaiste. Will he put it on the record today that every child who requires a special class or a special school place for this coming academic year will be provided with one? Second, how many children are seeking places and how many still do not have one? Third, has this memo Department officials told me about gone to Government and what actions will follow? This is about rights and resources and unless those two things are aligned, families will remain stuck in the gap between them. Every child deserves not just a place but an appropriate place and every parent deserves certainty not stress.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19