Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I am well aware of the campaign and discussions. I have met with the group and have committed to meeting with it again to discuss this further. In east Cork and the area the Deputy represents, there has been a huge growth in population, which increases the need for specialised education. One of the issues we have been looking at in the Department is people travelling long distances for specialised education. Between 2025 and 2026, almost 1,000 special classes have been opened across the country to try to meet the needs as locally as possible. In east Cork, the opening of the school at Carrigtwohill has met the needs within that community. We are acutely aware of the growing needs in this regard. We are continuing to monitor and study the figures to ensure we have specialised education as close as possible to the children, so we can eliminate the need to drive long distances. Those issues are getting careful consideration across the Department.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28