We are acutely aware of the challenges in post-primary education. Primary education, by and large, has stepped up to the plate. We are acutely aware of the challenges right across the country, not just in Laois. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I are working closely to make sure we have places for children in 2026. However, we are acutely aware of the challenges across County Laois and across the country at post-primary level. I welcome the engagement of the patrons and other bodies with the Department and the NC…

The Government is committed to the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school places next year by providing at least 3,000 new places in locations where it best meets existing and future demand. The provision of timely information is a key requirement to support the forward planning of new special education provision. The National Council for Special Education is the statutory body tasked with sanctioning new special education provision in our schools. The council is reviewing and assessin…

On the deadline, there was a huge amount of concern, particularly over recent years, that we were not planning properly for special classes and special schools in an early and a timely fashion. We brought forward the 1 October deadline and announced that earlier this year to bring greater clarity and certainty because families last year, particularly in the March-April period, were fierce frustrated not knowing what the future held in education terms for their children. We brought forward the 1 October deadline. Th…

For the assessment of need and because of the challenges we face, there is no doubt but that we need to move away from the model we have. We need to get therapists to children faster and not be tied up in too much bureaucracy. There has been a huge push to have assessments of need. Right now, you do not need an assessment of need to access education. A lot of work has been done, and I know that officials are meeting education partners today to bring clarity on the very question asked by the Deputy. We will certainl…

The bus has just come.

I thank the Deputy for his kind comments, although I noted a "but" towards the end of them. In recent months, while I have been in this role, I have seen right across the Chamber the commitment to education of all the spokespersons and Members of the House. The Deputy did a huge amount of work in relation to the Rahan school bus. That is what all of us should be doing because the future of our people rests on education and how to get it. We were delighted to work with the Deputy on that matter. School secretaries a…

To be absolutely fair, a Labour Court hearing will take place on 12 January 2026 and it would be against all procedures for me to come in here and undermine negotiations that are ongoing and the detailed work that is going on. As I said at the outset, I understand the position of the caretakers and secretaries, and I understand the Deputy's person involvement in the issue. I compliment his grandmother and others who have kept education running in many communities. When you walk into a school, the school secretary i…

We in the Department, across the Government and across the House support secretaries and caretakers. Earlier this year when they went as far as industrial action, many people stood with them because they understood and accepted the importance of caretakers and secretaries to school communities. It is important that we give that voice across the House, whether those speaking are in government or in opposition. We must give a voice to the issue because it gives a clear indication to us and the Department of the stren…

The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure they can meet day-to-day running costs. Schools have autonomy in their spending, allowing them to make decisions on spending independently at school level. The financial support services unit, FSSU, funded by the Department is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgeting and cash flow managem…

The next capitation grant payments due to primary and post-primary schools will be paid in January 2026. The Department is committing to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools experiencing financial difficulties and advises any such schools to engage early with the Department and FSSU. We increased them, and I think it is important that we put a long-term footing in place in relation to the capitation grants and that there is not just a once-off approach but a sensible way of making sure the cap…

The capitation grant increases in several budgets in recent years have been there. This means there is a serious commitment to education right across the system. We have record funding in the Department to meet the needs of student communities and make sure they have the best possible outcomes. Investment in education continues. This is the case whether it is in special or mainstream education, and the Government is very much committed to it. We are not blind to the challenges at school gates or in school communiti…

Budget 2026 provides funding for 3,000 new special educational places within our education system for the 2026-27 school year. As the number of special classes and special schools continues to grow, there is also additional capacity created each year through the natural movement of children from primary to post-primary, leaving post-primary and with vacancies in individual classes. In order to ensure new special classes can open as quickly as possible, the National Council for Special Education and the Department o…

We have developed an extremely convoluted system of getting appropriate school places for children. That system was developed over many years and it causes frustration for families, children and school communities. I will deal with the 1 October deadline first. The deadline was brought back from 1 February to 1 October to get a better handle on the system and to understand the level of need earlier in the school year. We will be sanctioning classes in the next couple of days, which is four months earlier than last …

Families have been contacting the NCSE after 1 October, even though the portal is closed. They have contacted their local SENOs and the NCSE informing them that their children will need specialised places in September 2026, either in a special class in a special school or supported within a mainstream school. We will work with all of those families. We are going to continue to work with them and nobody will be forgotten within the system-----

Since 1 October, quite a number of families have contacted the NCSE-----

-----through their SENO or directly. They have made contact through the local SENO, which is hugely important. They have contacted us and we are looking at those figures. We have brought the deadline forward to 1 October this year. We have to have a deadline because if we do not have one into the future, and if we constantly break that deadline, it will not work. We need to be sure of the numbers earlier within the system so that we can properly plan and make decisions and families can know with certainty early in …

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for the question. First of all, I want to welcome him back. It is great to see him and I wish him the very best of luck in everything. To say that I find the question in front of me and the challenges faced by survivors challenging would be an understatement. It is extremely distressing even to read or study some of the documentation in relation to this. I find it horrendous to hear the legacy that has been left and the damage that has been done to the man the Deputy calls Stephen, not j…

I take that point. I have met many families and survivors who have suffered enormous trauma such as the Deputy has outlined. Horrendous crimes were committed against them. People pass on and the family, the next generation, carry that challenge in respect of how their parents were treated in school. It is not just for the victims themselves but for the families. In many of the cases I have been involved with, the families have really been challenged. There is one commitment that I will give. The interdepartmental g…

I will give the Deputy a commitment that we will work to make sure the timelines set out within the system are adhered to. A lot of work is ongoing across Government Departments in that regard. I appreciate that commitments are often given in relation to timelines but then, for a number of reasons, those timelines are not met. This cannot be missed. It has to be on time. Over the past 30 or 40 years, we have dealt with revelations and issues relating to abuse in our school system. We are still trying to come to ter…

I am pleased to assure the House that there are more than sufficient places for all local children in the area referred to by the Deputy. While primary enrolments have been declining in the area since 2018, 16% of first year places at post-primary schools went unfilled for the last school year. This reflects an overall decline in post-primary enrolments for the area since 2023 and the fact that there are more first year places available than sixth class students in the area for the forthcoming school year. Enrolmen…