In terms of the Deputy's request, I am sure the Department is listening in to this debate. I will certainly bring the Deputy's request back to the Department. On the issue of temporary accommodation, as the Deputy is probably aware, funding of €556,150 was recently approved for temporary accommodation. Talking specifically about timelines, I do not have the information here. That is something that the planning and building unit will have. The Deputy will appreciate that, notwithstanding the wider construction envir…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which is of significant importance to me as Minister of State with responsibility for special education. Enabling students with additional needs to find appropriate placements in the education system is an absolute priority for me and for the Government. When talking about children with additional needs, it is important to stress that 97% of them attend mainstream classes, with the remainder attending special classes or special schools. The Deputy asked specifically about …

There are 106 special classes in Tipperary at present. It is expected that the NCSE will announce and confirm over the coming weeks where new special classes will be created in the county. I am not at liberty to say whether it is the Gaelscoil or not because there are still ongoing negotiations and engagement with various schools, not just in Tipperary, but in other counties as well. I would not like to in any way influence the outcome of any ongoing conversations. The Deputy made an important point on forward plan…

This is an opportune question in that I had a meeting yesterday with the National Council for Special Education and the Department on pinch points around the country, and we discussed Kilcock. I reassure the Deputy that a lot of ongoing and intensive engagement is happening in the background with schools in the locality. We are confident about September 2023 and we hope to give those reassurances in early course this year. We will be back to the Deputy on that.

I thank the Deputy for his question, which is important, in particular for me as Minister of State with responsibility for special education. The NCSE works very closely with the Department, parents, schools, patrons and all stakeholders to ensure that there are sufficient appropriate places for students with additional needs and to support all students to achieve their potential. The Deputy will be aware that in the past two to three years, the Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiati…

I am answering the Deputy's question because I am outlining to him the steps that are being undertaken, have been undertaken, and will continue to be undertaken, to ensure we have appropriate placements for the children. I will give him specific statistics if he wishes, but I want to outline to the House what we are doing in terms of forward planning, which is a critical component of making sure that we have the appropriate placements in situ . Fee-charging schools is another area that we are looking at. As the Dep…

This is not just about the forecasting model. These are the new initiatives that we have undertaken. These initiatives are bearing fruit. We will have 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level and almost 300 new special classes at post-primary level. We have had five new special schools over the past three years. We can see clearly that it has had a major effect on what we are trying to achieve, especially in Cork. We have 65 new special classes in Cork; 23 in Limerick; 24 in Meath; and 94 in Dublin. Howe…

I thank the Deputy for her topical question. The AON process is provided for under the Disability Act and is under the remit of the HSE. The Deputy will be aware that there was a court decision and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is now required to assist the HSE purely in respect of the educational assessment of the needs of children who have applied to the HSE for an AON. In complying with this requirement, the NCSE will work with schools, which already hold extensive information arising from te…

The INTO was involved, along with other education partners. In fact, it welcomed assurances from the Department in respect of the new process yesterday. It issued a press statement stating that it is important "the new process for reporting of education needs will not be used as a replacement for assessments undertaken by educational psychologists and other health professionals". Obviously, there is concern relating to the general waiting times in terms of services and all that. The INTO stated it will be monitorin…

There is no stopgap. This is purely in relation to the educational component of the assessment of need, not the health component. The review in June and monthly monitoring will be important, as will engagement with the Department and NCSE. There are supports available for schools. There is detailed AON guidance and a short video, and there are also email supports and a health line. If further supports are deemed necessary during the implementation phase and the monitoring of the process, the Department and NCSE mus…

I thank the Deputy for his question. Obviously, planning in respect of special school placements does not relate only to Cork, but to the rest of the country as well. However, Cork and Dublin are probably the most densely populated areas, which has an impact with regard to forward planning. I am not sure if the Deputy was in the Chamber earlier on but I outlined some of the initiatives that the Department and the NCSE are taking in respect of forward planning, which was lacking in the past. We have undertaken a num…

I completely understand that. There is extremely intense engagement going on with a lot of the special schools at present in terms of providing additional capacity. Some of the initiatives I outlined to the Deputy were for that very reason. Some of them will be able to add existing accommodation and reconfiguration to the schools that they have themselves. Three special schools have been opened in recent years and two more are opening during the school year. Rochestown Community School is to open later this year. F…

I thank both Deputies for their contributions. There is a site as well in Glanmire which I may not have mentioned. There is agreement in principle in respect of that acquisition. It is being progressed through conveyancing with the Chief State Solicitor's office at present. There is a detailed breakdown on the NCSE website of what is there. I am aware of Deputy Stanton's particular concern in east Cork. There is intensive engagement. In response to Deputy O'Sullivan, it is a fool's errand for me to give any figures…

I thank the Deputy for her question. There is real representation from Cork in the Chamber this morning. It shows the level of commitment but also of concern from the county and city on the part of the public representatives in respect of special education. It is important to stress that 92% of special classes are to support autism in general terms. That would apply to Cork as well. It is interesting to look at the research from Cork conducted during 2020 and 2021. The Department and the NCSE had been using a preva…

I appreciate that the statistics are in the abstract and do not talk to individual families. Behind all of those statistics are individual families and individual appropriate placements. I allude to them simply to show the Deputy the progress that has been made but not to take away from the fact that a huge amount still needs to be done, particularly around post-primary education. That is why we have written to all post-primary schools and the Department and NCSE met the main post-primary school management bodies l…

This is something the Department is aware of. Other colleagues, including Deputy Stanton, have requested another special school in Cork as well. I mentioned earlier some of the initiatives that are being taken around forward planning because I am not convinced that it was done adequately in the past. That has been acknowledged and that was obvious because there were gaps. That is why that work is being done but it will take a while before it delivers to exact standards, as it should. Having said that, there is seri…

This was Deputy Ó Murchú's second question. His first question was specifically on Louth but I have no difficulty in taking this one. I met Fiacre Ryan last week, along with his mother. He has written a book, Speechless , which the Deputy is probably aware of. It is incredible for a non-verbal autistic child to write a book. His mother correctly made the point to me that just because someone has autism does not mean they are not intelligent, and he is clearly an extremely intelligent young man. He learned through t…

This needs to be discussed in more depth with the Department. Officials in the Department are aware of the benefits of RPM but at the same time they say that there is no clear empirical evidence to underpin it and that the guidance suggests that a range of supports may need to be adopted for each child. Schools are not prohibited from using RPM but it will not necessarily be for every child and there are supports available for students who are non-verbal under the assistive technology scheme as well, which the Depu…

My understanding is that RPM is not prohibited in schools. If there is a particular school where there is an issue, perhaps the Deputy could let me or the Department know about it. RPM encourages those who are struggling to communicate to use techniques that include writing, typing or pointing. Other organisations might have concerns about this method, notwithstanding its successes for some children. The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists, for example, released a statement in 2017 that outlined its…

I thank the Acting Chair for the opportunity to be with Members here today to talk about the summer programme. It has been a particular focus for me as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion. In fact, I have had the pleasure of visiting many of the summer programmes and have seen at first hand the immeasurable difference this programme makes to children with special educational needs and those experiencing educational disadvantage. The provision of education for children with spec…