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

For the assessment of need and because of the challenges we face, there is no doubt but that we need to move away from the model we have. We need to get therapists to children faster and not be tied up in too much bureaucracy. There has been a huge push to have assessments of need. Right now, you do not need an assessment of need to access education. A lot of work has been done, and I know that officials are meeting education partners today to bring clarity on the very question asked by the Deputy. We will certainly bring extreme clarity. If this system is to work within education, all our education partners must have bought in, including the teacher unions and people right across the education spectrum. Every one of those people plays a significant role in special education. I assure the Deputy that intense work is ongoing at the moment to ensure we bring absolute clarity to the roles involved in decision-making, and that decisions are guided by the best possible outcomes for children. Those will be finalised. We will update the House when those issues are agreed between the various education partners.

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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