Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Darren O'Rourke (SF), Meath East

I would be interested to know the numbers. I recognise they have been increasing year on year. My understanding from replies to parliamentary question that I have received from the Department is that the budget has increased but it has not increased in the past two years and has been static. I know there were 1,800 schools and 71,000 children last year. How many schools and children are there this year? Will the Minister of State indicate whether more schools will participate this year and whether more children will be accommodated?
I know many schools are engaging in the appeals process. I implore the Minister of State to ensure timely responses. I am dealing with a number of schools that have appealed. They engaged in good faith and outlined their particular circumstances but it is more than ten working days later and they have had no response from the Department. That has to change.
When will the sanction letters for the home-based programme be issued to give people a clear indication that they can go about making arrangements?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17