Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
============================================================

Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I thank the Deputy for the Topical Issue. The Government is committed to the provision of specialised education for children with special educational needs. In the early part of budget 2026, we have 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 education placements for September 2026. This would be in addition to placements created due to the natural movement of students, such as those transitioning from primary to post-primary or completing school. In April 2026, the Government agreed to additional funding for the provision of specialised education services for children across the country. This money is funding special education teachers, additional special needs assistants, SNAs, increased capitation, access to specialised school transport and start-up grants for schools opening new special classes and inclusive special classes.
The year 2026 represents the largest ever expansion of specialised education provision in the history of the State. Through the combined efforts of the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, 587 new special classes have been sanctioned for the 2026-27 school year, including 70 inclusive special classes. This represents an increase of over 40% in the number of special classes being provided in 2026 compared to 2025. In total, there will be over 4,300 special classes operating in mainstream schools next year.
In County Wicklow, 148 special classes are now in operation, providing capacity for 888 students. This includes 16 new special classes for the 2026-27 school year. In April, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I announced the establishment of four new special schools for the 2026-27 school year, including in Bray. Dedicated working groups including the Department, the NCSE and the relevant patron body continue to meet to support the establishment of these new special schools. Offers of placements have been made, new principals, teachers and SNAs are being recruited and it is intended that these new schools will open later in term 1 of this school year. The NCSE continues to advise parents at local level on developments. My Department is currently funding a large scale major project for Kilcoole Primary School. The Department has requested the current design team to master plan for future provision of specialised classes. Modular accommodation is one of the Department’s delivery streams for provision of permanent accommodation at schools. Having assessed the position regarding additional capacity for special classes, the Department has determined that modular accommodation represents the most cost-effective method for provision of additional permanent accommodation at Kilcoole Primary School.
Modular expenditure is an investment in permanent accommodation in the same way as any other traditional form of construction. In the majority of cases, it is providing a permanent solution to accommodation requirements; it is not temporary accommodation. Modular accommodation is well suited to the school context. Off-site construction minimises disruption in the live school environment while factory precision and strict quality control deliver robust, low-maintenance buildings. Today's modular buildings represent a major advancement from earlier prefabricated forms and since December 2018, all new builds, including modular, must meet the near-zero energy building standard, ensuring high energy efficiency and sustainability.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24