Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Marian Harkin (IND), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank the Deputy. I hear his real concern for his constituent's child and the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves. I have a response here, some of which deals with the issue he raised and some of which is a more general response on what the Government is doing. If he will bear with me, I will give him both.
The Government is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 has already provided funding for over 400 new special classes and at least 400 new special school places for the 2026-27 school year. It was intended that this would create almost 3,000 new special educational placements for December 2026. In total, there will be over 4,300 special classes operating in mainstream schools next year, an increase of 130% since 2020. In County Dublin, 845 special classes are now in operation, providing capacity for over 5,000 students, and this includes 140 new special classes for the 2026-2027 year.
In addition, 20 new special schools have been established in recent years. Special school capacity has also been expanded across a number of special schools nationwide. A total of 44 of these special schools are in County Dublin, educating approximately 2,700 students with the most complex of special educational needs. These schools are supported by the Department and the NCSE.
As Deputy Hearne is aware, an earlier notification deadline was introduced this year to support forward planning and to earlier equip - and I presume better equip - the NCSE with local information as to what students would be leaving school, transitioning to post-primary specialist places, seeking specialist placement or entering the education system for the first time. This information is critical when examining where provision needs to be placed to meet demand.
The NCSE began sanctioning new special classes earlier this year, which is several months earlier than last year. A total of 587 have been sanctioned for the school year 2026-2027. The earlier sanctioning of new classes provides clarity for parents and allows schools more time for the planning and establishment of new special classes. In regard to the specific matter raised by Deputy Hearne on the modular project for Finglas Parochial National School, the modular building is installed on site. Internal fitting-out works are nearing completion and external works, including soft play works, are taking place in parallel. The project will be completed soon. The assigned project managers are keeping the school authority updated regularly as the project progresses to near completion. This project required planning permission, which was granted on 25 March this year. The Department and its project manager have been working to ensure the project gets delivered as quickly as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22