Special Educational Needs
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising the issue. In the first instance this year, as opposed to other years, we have started the sanctioning of classes much earlier. We have 432 classes sanctioned already.
That is because we had an earlier date for notification of 1 October. An awful lot of forward planning is being done in relation to special education and over the past number of years, the amount of money that has been put into primary and post-primary education has been absolutely huge by any yardstick. It is also meeting the need within our school communities and our cohort of students. Families have been notifying the NCSE of their special education requirements for students.
The issue the Senator raised relates to the five schools that were announced last week. It is hugely important that we make sure we are doing our best to have the best possible outcomes for students. At post-primary level, a lot of a lot of integration and inclusion happens. When we announced the classes last week there was a headline straight away that we were not putting the staffing resources with the students. However, in any of the enhanced classes that we have, six students will be getting 1.5 teachers and two SNAs at post-primary level. If there is an additional six students, they will be getting an additional 1.5 teachers and two SNAs. There is absolutely no reduction in staffing or the staffing ratios that are in place for students with additional need in special classes. That ratio was set many decades ago and is sacrosanct in that it is Government and departmental policy.
Some comments were made on Wednesday and Thursday of last week to the effect that we were not giving any staffing but nothing could be further from the truth. I note that some organisations corrected their comments when it was pointed out that we were giving the same staffing. We also want to make sure that we are supporting post-primary schools in particular with additional resources in terms of staffing for students. We have interacted with a huge number of principals and we have some great models of education being delivered in post-primary schools throughout the country. In a number of schools that I have visited myself I have seen the way they are delivering at post-primary level in terms of having a hub and having students going in and out of different classes. They have all said that we need to have the supports in place, be they teachers or SNAs. In each of the instances cited by the Senator, we are giving the extra teachers and SNAs. There is absolutely zero question about that. It is fundamental and vitally important that we reassure parents and students that there is absolutely no cutback whatsoever in terms of the teachers and SNAs that are being provided for children who are going into special classes. It is the same ratio.
In relation to a lot of the policy that we have been looking at over the last year or so, we are trying to determine the best model to ensure that we are equipping students who are going into special classes for a more fulfilled life. We have to look at the outcomes for children, both at primary and post-primary school, and on into adulthood, whether they are going on to further education or into the workplace and provide whatever supports are needed. This model has been very much welcomed by a number of the education partners. It is in its infancy but it is something that we are looking at to make sure that we are supporting children by having the support staff in place for the students. The same ratio applies. We are making sure that we have the support staff in place in order that that we can have the best possible model of integration into the future. We have a huge number of teams of both teachers and SNAs within the special education sector and we want to now look at how best we can make it as inclusive as possible

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21