My Department works closely with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. In the budget, we secured funding for up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and an additional 300 special school places for the 2024-25 school year. This will deliver 2,700 new places for children. Nationwide over 386 new special classes, providing 2,300 special education places in mainstream schools, have been sanctioned by the NCSE fo…

First, we are increasing the number of SENOs from 73 to 120 and they will be in place by September this year. I will come back to the Deputy with the exact figure but it is up in the eighties at this point. The 120 will be in place for the coming school year beginning in September 2024. What is really important about the role of the SENOs and the feedback we got from the NCSE was that they were overstretched. They had a very wide geographical area to cover. Their area will now be county-based. We are going to reduc…

I can come back in with further details.

I concur on the anxiety and that parents need the reassurance of knowing their child has a place for the upcoming school year. We really do not want to be in this position again. Parents need to know early in the year where their child is going to be that coming September and that is why the resourcing of the NCSE is so important. Today, I have written to a number of schools in the Dublin 15 area to thank them for their work throughout the year but also to highlight the issues the Deputy has raised regarding the an…

I thank the Deputy for her question. I am delighted that funding of €40 million has been secured again this year to ensure a comprehensive summer programme is available in 2024. The funding of €40 million is designed to cover the full costs associated with the summer programme. On that particular issue, parents should not be asked to make financial contributions to the summer programme. My Department was made aware of one case, which was immediately resolved. Should any parent find themselves in a position where th…

When we reached out to schools in order to increase the numbers partaking, we asked them what the barriers to doing the summer programme were. The issues that came up were the rate of pay for teachers and SNAs. We have increased the rate of pay for teachers and SNAs. We have opened up a portal because some of the schools were saying they could not get the teachers or the SNAs. A portal has been opened up for teachers and SNAs to register their interest to work in any school across the country. It is even open to st…

We all know the value of the summer programme and the Deputy is absolutely right. The feedback from teachers and parents is such that when children can partake in the summer programme, that regression is greatly reduced when they go back to school, which is why we have focused on it. The uptake of special schools has significantly increased, according to the inspectorate report on this. We can delve down. There are figures-----

I will come back to the Deputy on that and try to delve into those figures. The Department cannot compel schools to participate in the programme because participation in the school-based summer programme is voluntary, and it is a matter for boards of management and schools to decide whether they will run the programme. What the Department has done is reach out to all schools, as we continue to do, in respect of what the barriers are and that is where the issues of pay, access to teachers and SNAs, the portal and in…

It is not opposed.

It is not opposed.

I move: That, with effect from 10th July, 2024, the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business are hereby amended as recommended in the report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform dated 3rd July, 2024, entitled " Amendments to Standing Orders on Timeframes for Pre-legislative Scrutiny and Consideration of Estimates ", a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 9th July, 2024.

I move: That it be an instruction to the Committee on the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024, that pursuant to Standing Order 187, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill in order to amend: - the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, by inserting a new section to provide for electronic service of notices under that Act as well as to amend section 19 of that Act to reform the p…

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Sultanate of Oman) Order 2024 ( back from Committee, without debate ) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Jersey) Order 2024 ( back from Committee, without debate ) - Motion re Reappointment of a Member of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission ( without debate ) - Motion re Appointment of An tOmbudsman Póilíneachta ( without …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. Since I came into this role, we have seen that the number of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, will increase from 73 to 120. The Deputy is correct about the issues with enrolment, with parents applying to numerous schools. Schools have their own enrolment policies and the NCSE is sometimes blind to the figures a school has when places become available because some of those places have already been taken by children in the school. The Deputy is aware o…

I move: That it be an instruction to the Committee on the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2024 that, pursuant to Standing Order 187, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill in order to make an amendment to the Mental Health Act 2001, in order to increase the length of time a person can serve on a mental health tribunal operated by the Mental Health Commission and to make other consequential amendments required to take a…

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Further Revised Estimate for Public Services 2024 [Vote 29] ( back from Committee, without debate) . - Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 [ Seanad ] (Second Stage) ( if not previously concluded, to adjourn either at 7.29 p.m. or after 3 hrs 40 mins, whichever is the later ). Tuesday's private members' business shall be Second Stage of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2024, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday…

On behalf of the Government, I welcome the opportunity to close what has been an insightful and informative discussion about this important matter. The many issues raised and statements made today will feed into the Department's ongoing commitment to the provision of funding and other supports to the primary school system. As the Minister, Deputy Foley, said, the Government is aware that costs and funding can pose a real problem for schools. I repeat that the Government and the Department of Education, in particula…

I move: That it be an instruction to the Committee on the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 that, pursuant to Standing Order 187, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill in order to introduce a technical amendment to the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023, in order to clarify the intention of the Act as to who may request open disclosure and to make other consequential amendments required to t…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. The Government's legislative programme, which was published on 16 April 2024, sets out the Government's legislative priorities for the current parliamentary session. The current programme includes 53 Bills for priority publication and drafting across a number of areas, including healthcare, access to housing, stronger safer communities and pension reform among many others during the Dáil session. Since this Government came to office in June 2020, a total…

It is proposed that notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders that the Motion re approval of nomination by the Taoiseach of a Member of the Government shall be taken now. The following arrangements shall apply to the debate: if not previously concluded, the proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion after 52 minutes. Speeches shall be confined to a single round and the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows: speeches by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, five minu…