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 student…

I take the Deputy's point and I can get the figures for her. In the provision of specialised education, we want to ensure that in special classes that are associated with mainstream schools, inclusivity is one of the major key pieces in it. In the ramping up of the provision and the capacity across the country, I have been at many schools and seen the work that has happened over the past while. We have made a very serious commitment and in terms of any new build that is going on, both at primary and post-primary le…

I thank the Deputy for the question. We have discussed this issue and he has raised it a number of times with me. I have met a number of stakeholders to discuss how our schools support children with dyslexia, including experts in the field, teachers, parents and advocacy groups, such as the likes of Dyslexia Ireland and the Crack the Code group, which I met with Deputy Moynihan before the summer. As he knows, the majority of students with literacy difficulties currently receive additional teaching supports from a s…

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department continues to engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to forward planning for new special provision to ensure every child has a place in an educational setting best fitted to their educational need. No policy position can be static and needs to evolve alongside the student populatio…

I thank Deputy Wall for the question. The Government is very committed to the provision of specialised education. In the budget of 2026, this time last year, we committed to over 400 new special classes and over 400 new special school places. In April, we agreed additional funding to have more funding in place for more special classes and special school places as well. The year 2026 represents the largest ever expansion of specialist educational provision in the history of the State. Through the combined efforts of…

I thank the Deputy for his kind comments. We do not turn water into wine every time but we do certainly try to help and assist in any way we can. I accept the Deputy's comments on this. We started out this time last year, just after 1 October, with a huge number of students, at primary and post-primary and in special schools, looking for places. We have, through the massive work that continued throughout the year in the Department of education and the NCSE, brought that down to a very small cohort of children, alth…

I thank the Deputy for his engagement in relation to this issue. The assistive technology scheme supplements the overall funding provided to schools for digital technology and equipment. It supports children who require essential specialised equipment to access the school curriculum. Assistive technology is a critical enabler for students with special educational needs, allowing them to benefit fully from the modern, technological-focused education system. The Department of Education and Youth recognises the signif…

By way of background, 85% of the applications processed for assistive technology between January and June have been approved. We are always conscious of those who fall outside the scheme. Hence, the drawing up of the new circular to ensure that we are taking into account students and children who are outside of the scheme but who would greatly benefit from it. The Deputy has spoken to me a number of times about the child in question. I understand the challenges that are there as well. The aim of the new circular th…

We are very conscious of the issue. A huge number of groups that I have met over the past while, particularly on the dyslexia side, have all been discussing assistive technologies. That is also the case for children who are non-communicative and non-verbal. Assistive technologies are extremely important for them. The Department set out to compile a new curriculum because of the challenges and parameters within the old curriculum to ensure that we are reaching as many students as possible. We fundamentally believe t…

Yes, from September.

I thank the Deputy. By way of background, the number of SNAs working within the education system has grown significantly to support the increasing number of students with special education needs, both in mainstream schools and in special schools and classes. By the end of this year, there will be approximately 26,000 SNAs in our education system. In recognition of the importance of the SNA role, the Department established the SNA workforce development unit and on 3 June 2026 published the first SNA WDP. Built aroun…

I cannot emphasise enough the respect that the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I have for special needs assistants and the contribution they make to education. In March, we met the SNAs to have further engagement and consultation with them and to understand their roles. The workforce development plan is the first significant piece of work that has been done to plan for SNAs, not just in the here and now, but into the future. Huge consultation and engagement has taken place on this. However, the Department received o…

There has been huge engagement by the Department on the development of the workforce development plan over the past two years. A large amount of engagement and meetings were held. It is the first workforce development plan. There was concern regarding redeployment. The circular and all of those documents were worked through and co-designed very carefully with the SNAs in mind. We wanted to ensure that we understood the concerns of the SNAs. The Department has written back this week to confirm that it remains commit…

The school transport system is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The scheme is a demand-led scheme based on the number of eligible children who apply and pay on time. Families who require school transport for 2026-27 were asked to apply and pay for their school bus tickets by the closing date of 8 May. The earlier closing date was put in place so that we could give Bus Éireann additional time to put in place transport arrangements for the upcoming sch…

I know the value of the school bus ticket. I always say that from the middle of August through to 1 October is peak time in terms of this issue. Irrespective of the overall figures that I can give the Deputy here today in relation to the cost to the State and the amount of money that the State has invested, it pales into irrelevance when we are talking about one or two tickets for a family. The Deputy mentioned six tickets on a particular route. We have a lot of concerns in relation to whether every bus ticket on t…

I thank the Deputy. We are looking at ways to ensure that if there is a ticket issued, it will be used. Anecdotally, the Deputy and other colleagues tell us about school routes the length and breadth of the country that have spare capacity but, when we look at the system, all of the tickets on that particular school route are occupied and accounted for, and it is therefore very difficult to reallocate them. As it is such a huge scheme, and given the amount of money the State has invested in it, we need to try to ge…

I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. The motion before us reflects a concern that many families will recognise, namely, that the costs associated with going back to school can place real pressure on household budgets. Both the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and l, and the wider Government, recognise that concern. Our focus is on practical measures that reduce costs, support schools and ensure every child can participate fully in school life. The issues raised today are important. I thank all Deputies who r…

I might address the issue, which was in relation to the increased capacity, specifically for County Limerick. Unfortunately, the Senator did not give me the exact details in relation to Cappagh or Rathkeale so I do not have the specific details to hand. The school transport system is a huge operation that is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The scheme has expanded significantly over the past six years. It is recognised that the school transport system is a vital support for…

By way of clarification, the State is subsidising the school transport scheme to the tune of €650 million, which is a rise of just over €200 million from only a few years ago. We have expanded the numbers using the service over the past four or five years from 120,000 to the 181,000 pupils that were carried last year. More than 11,000 routes are covered at both primary and secondary level. That gives a sense of the scale of the operation that is the school transport system right across the country. The terms and co…

I thank the Senator and I appreciate the question. Budget 2026 provides for a total of €13.1 billion investment in the Department of Education and Youth services. That is a 7% increase on last year. The budget provides for an increase of €845 million in core funding for education and youth on the figure allocated for 2025, while the total investment figure also includes €1.6 billion allocated for 2026 as part of the National Development Plan 2026-2030. This funding reflects the Government's continued commitment und…