Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 March 2025
266. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the means by which she will ensure that children with special educational needs receive timely assessments and adequate support in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14924/25]
View answerThis government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.
The assessment of needs process is provided for under the Disability Act 2005 and is a process under the remit of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Matters in relation to the assessment of needs should be directed to the HSE or to the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality.
In 2025 over €2.9 billion will be spent supporting children with special educational needs. This figure builds on previous years and represents over a quarter of the education budget. It will provide for, amongst other things, 400 new special classes and 300 new special school places. It will also increase our special educational posts by 768 special education teacher and 1,600 special needs assistant (SNA) posts nationwide.
By the end of the year there will be over 20,800 special educational teachers and 23,400 SNAs in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,200 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. Children do not require a diagnosis to access these supports in mainstream classes.
In addition to these resources, there are a number of initiatives recently introduced to ensure that no matter where a child is enrolled they have access to the required supports to enable them to achieve their educational goals. An example of this is the Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) which sees 39 occupational and speech and language therapy posts embedded within the NCSE. The service is designed to build the capacity of teachers (and other school personnel as relevant) to provide as effectively as possible for the needs of all students.
While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, my department is working with the Department of Health, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the HSE to develop and strengthen more coherent structures to enable children and young people to access therapeutic supports across both health and education. As a result of this engagement the enhanced in-school therapy supports pilot commenced in September 2024 delivering in school supports to sixteen special schools via the HSE’s Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) and supported by the NCSE. The purpose of the programme is to provide the effective delivery of in-school therapy supports to children and supplement existing services being provided through CDNTs.
My department and the NCSE will continue to support schools to ensure all children with special educational needs receive a befitting education, one where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
