I thank the Deputies for raising this hugely important issue. I will outline what we are doing before I go into the substantive issue. The Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, continue to support children with special educational needs. I want to stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for me and the Government. The number of classes, special education teachers and needs assistants are at an unprecedent…

I thank the Deputies for their responses and for their sincerity. The written reply was circulated to them, so I will not waste the time of the Dáil by reading it into the record. The position is obvious. The Department is continuing to liaise with the school authorities to find a solution. I take the point that a permanent site is the solution and that the prefabs should not be seen as a long-term solution; they are for the short term. If we are true to our word about making sure that we have special classes and s…

I thank the Senator for her question. While I might be able to bluff my way through with some Irish, it is of great embarrassment to me that I am unable to respond to the Senator in Irish. Tá brón orm. I have an official statement from the Department. I will refer to the Senator's questions at the end of my contribution. The Department is fully supportive and remains committed to the establishment of the Gaelcholáiste in the south of Dublin city. The Department is currently working with the Edmund Rice Schools Trus…

I will take the questions the Senator has posed back to the Department. It is greatly important. This is a major change in direction for Synge Street CBS. It is all-encompassing because there are the teachers who have been there for many years and done great work. This is a major new departure for them. What we will need will be clear guidance. Obviously, with this starting in September 2026, the Senator is quite right that it will be just the first year of school for those students. We must ensure they understand …

I thank the Deputy very much for raising the issue. I understand the genuine concern and the way he has brought it to the floor of the Dáil. I thank Deputies for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in relation to the financial situation for funding for primary schools in Dublin's north inner city. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to the schools. Schools have been in contact with the Department and have been referred to the financial support se…

I thank the Deputy for his genuine concern regarding this. If he shares the document he mentioned with me immediately afterwards, I will take it up and work with him and with all Deputies in relation to school communities. I outlined the issues in respect of what we are going to do and what we have done in previous budgets. We are acutely aware of the challenges that are being faced by schools, school communities and the members of the school management of those schools who are doing an extremely good job. The FSSU…

Thank you very much, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I wish you well in your role.

I thank the Senators for raising the issues. In the first instance, I thank Senator Tully, because we worked closely on the Committee on Disability Matters in the previous term. We certainly raised the issues, along with Senator Clonan and, indeed, Senator Rabbitte, who put a huge amount of effort into her role in the previous Dáil as Minister of State. I thank all Senators who have been liaising with me over the past while in terms of the issue of special education and inclusion. I know of all the deep interest th…

I thank the Senator for her question on school transport. The School Transport 2030 report, which was published in early 2024, marks the largest review of the school transport system since it was established in the late 1960s. I am committed to working to achieve the report's recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030 and to continue to improve the scheme so it provides a valued service to those families who rely on it, while providing value for mone…

I thank the Senator for the question. This year, 25 April is the final date by which families can apply on the portal. It is important that date is out there and that families know about it. Indeed, most families availing of it do know about it at this stage. When those figures come to hand, we will review what is necessary. In our experience, from August onwards, families get the routes and so forth, then the challenges come in and it takes some time to work through them. My commitment is that we will work with th…

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this matter and, more importantly, I congratulate her on her election to Seanad Éireann. I thank her for the work she did as Vice Chair of the disability matters committee in the Thirty-third Dáil. The dedication and commitment to her job was second to none. We had a hugely important role and the committee worked well across the political divide. On allowing the project in Milltown National School in Belturbet, County Cavan, to proceed to stage 2, I thank the Deput…

Yes, three and a half years is a long time, but I might just answer the Senator’s question on inclusivity. I know about the great work that is being done in Milltown National School and the inclusivity there, which she mentioned, and the way the school has embraced all the challenges and changes within the education system. That has to be acknowledged, both from a school leadership point of view and thanks to all those who are working within the school. I acknowledge that and wish them well on it. I will see whethe…

We are moving to have a centralised portal to make sure there is a centralised system for application. On challenges parents have in finding places, particularly at primary level, and we have 218 sanctioned and huge work is ongoing at departmental level to sanction more, it is a key priority for me and the whole of the Government to make sure that stress of finding places is limited because parents have enough going on. We want to ensure there is a streamlined process. We will work with might and main to make sure …

I thank the Deputy for the question, and I look forward to working with everybody in this role for the betterment of all because there are, as always, huge challenges in education, which is the bedrock of our society. The Government is fully committed to children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver this objective. Up to an additional 2,700 specialist places, made up of 400 new special classes for an average of six ch…

As we understand it, the plans we have in place and the placements we are working on with school patrons and schools right across the country will exceed the demand and there will be sufficient places. However, we will have to work with all families and school authorities to make sure they are in place in a timely manner. We have to be better at getting information through the AIM programme and the domiciliary care scheme. All of that information has to be available at an earlier date. One of the challenges we face…

Everything that is needed is being put in place. This includes school buildings and spare capacity in schools. If necessary, section 37A will be invoked to ensure we have places. The Department and the NCSE are extremely serious about making sure that this is done. They have been working very hard over recent weeks to bring that about and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. I understand that the NCSE has engaged with parents over recent days in respect of the protest. It will be engaging with all parents, f…

I thank the Deputy for the question. My clear understanding is that there is no proposed reduction in special education teaching, SET, hours for the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2025-26 school year. This school has seen a reduction of over 2% in enrolments since the 2024-25 school year and its SET allocation remains at 22.5 hours for the 2025-26 school year. The special education teaching allocation model is a standardised allocation model that provides schools with additional teaching hours to support …

I come from a very rural community myself and I see the fantastic work that is being done right across the education sector in both rural and urban areas. Practitioners at school level, teachers, SET teachers and special needs assistants, make an enormous contribution. The method of allocating SET hours is very carefully monitored and has been over many years, going back to the time of resource teachers. A model has been brought in that fairly and accurately reflects the needs within the school community. I reitera…

It is vitally important that all schools, including rural schools, are protected. Many smaller rural schools provide fantastic facilities. Where children who have additional needs go to rural schools, the school community is smaller. Those schools work extremely well. I take the point that these schools support everybody. As the population grows, it is important that rural schools and urban schools are all protected because they are all vital pieces of infrastructure. I would like to see the letter the Deputy has i…

I have no difficulty with that but our information clearly states that there is no reduction in SET hours for the 2025-26 school year.