Special Educational Needs Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. If he does not mind, I will depart a little from the script with which I have been provided. It is hugely important. We are talking about inclusion and making sure we get the best possible education for children with additional needs as they go through primary and post-primary school. As the Deputy rightly said, we are announcing more special classes. We are really trying to make the education system fit for purpose in meeting the needs of students with additional needs. As with other countries, we have seen the need growing across Ireland and the OECD. I have said many times that I shudder to think what is happening in the undeveloped countries. We are really trying to come to terms with it. The Deputy mentioned St. Raphael's, Stepping Stones and Saplings special schools. I met representatives of Stepping Stones last week. I meet representatives of special schools regularly and have been to a huge number of such schools across the country. I applaud the work that is being done in the special schools and in special education, in particular. The Deputy mentioned special schools and I have met their representatives. From this week on, I will be having a number of regional meetings with the principals of special schools right across the country. We are starting an engagement process in Sligo on Friday. It will be right across the country. We will be meeting the leadership in special schools to get an understanding of the challenges that are being faced. The Deputy raised the issue of the State exams and certification. It is hugely important that we have uniformity at the very core. The Deputy mentioned his representation in relation to certificates being issued. That is simply not good enough. We have to make sure for the student cohort who are going to special schools. A huge amount of work is being done in the schools and by families to equip students for life after school with the best possible engagement and fulfilment they can have in the life they lead. If we are true to the word "inclusion", we must include everybody. A lot of work has gone on in relation to designing the junior certificate and, indeed, the leaving certificate at the special school level. It is important we ensure that at the end of that process, it is the very same for the students who are going to the special school, in that the certificate is issued and we work through the various challenges to make sure they are on the same level as their peers in mainstream education. It is something we are looking at very closely. I intend to make sure that happens. It is not the case for public representatives; I know the Deputy is deeply invested in special education. He has spoken to me many times over the last 12 or 14 months or so in relation to the challenges that are being faced, and I appreciate that. We had a very successful visit to the Deputy's part of County Kildare recently. I actually saw first-hand the excellent work that has been done in some of the school communities there, which I mentioned in various discussions we have had not alone in the Department but in the wider sphere as well. To address the Deputy's point, it is important that the student cohort who are going to special schools earn the same recognition as any of their peers. We have to ensure that the certificates are generated and issued within the State exams system within the Department. I can assure the Deputy that it is something we need to address because it is an issue that has arisen. We are working on it, and we have a lot of work done in designing the various schemes over the past while to have it student focused as well. It is something I intend to take very seriously. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-22