National Council for Special Education
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

On the deadline, there was a huge amount of concern, particularly over recent years, that we were not planning properly for special classes and special schools in an early and a timely fashion. We brought forward the 1 October deadline and announced that earlier this year to bring greater clarity and certainty because families last year, particularly in the March-April period, were fierce frustrated not knowing what the future held in education terms for their children. We brought forward the 1 October deadline. The deadline was put in place to ensure we knew what the demand was for 1 September 2026. Those figures are being gone through meticulously to make sure that the classes are opened where the demand is and that we understand where the demand is. A lot of that work is ongoing. We hope to announce a number of the classes this week, but there is a huge amount of work still going through where the numbers are. The engagement between the council and the families is ongoing.
I might come back on a few of the other issues the Deputy raised.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11