Written Answers Nos. 427-447
427. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to calls from parents and representative groups in relation to students with dyslexia and dyspraxia and other conditions what may require them to have additional time allocated and other accommodations for State examinations; if this is under review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57279/25]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that the Programme for Government commits to developing an appropriate mechanism to allow additional time for students with specific needs and in certain circumstances, and also to ensure that those who use assistive technology can do so in State examinations.
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has responsibility for the operation and delivery of the State examinations, and facilitates access to the examinations through its scheme of reasonable accommodations at the certificate examinations, otherwise known as the RACE scheme.
I welcome that the SEC is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the scheme in which it is giving consideration to these and all relevant issues.
I have asked the SEC to respond directly to the Deputy with further detail about the RACE scheme and the ongoing system wide review of the scheme.
428. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the details of all reports, including consultancy reports commissioned by her Department from 1 January 2024 to date in 2025, that could be categorised as not for external publication or marked for internal use only; the cost of each report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57288/25]
View answerTo note that details of expenditure on consultancy by the Department of Education and Youth are set out on the gove.ie website. Information in relation to such expenditure is compiled annually in respect of the previous year. As such, all figures for 2024 are available at:
Department of Education Expenditure on Consultancy
Officials in my Department are currently collecting information relevant to 2025 and will revert directly to the Deputy with the details requested as soon as possible.
429. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth the options available to urban parents for school transport (details supplied); the funding schemes which are available to assist such parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57304/25]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth.
The purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who live certain distances from their closest school.
Under the current terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
The Deputy's request for the provision of bus transport for pupils in urban areas does not fall under the remit of the School Transport Scheme.
430. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding accessibility of Leaving Certificate applied examinations for students who are deaf or hard of hearing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57321/25]
View answer439. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth to respond to concerns (details supplied) that several Leaving Certificate Applied subjects are inaccessible for deaf and hard of hearing students; for details of any plans to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57400/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 430 and 439 together.
I can advise the Deputy that the Programme for Government commits to developing an appropriate mechanism to allow additional time for students with specific needs and in certain circumstances, and also to ensure that those who use assistive technology can do so in State examinations.
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has responsibility for the operation and delivery of the State examinations, and facilitates access to the examinations through its scheme of reasonable accommodations at the certificate examinations, otherwise known as the RACE scheme. I welcome that the SEC is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the scheme in which it intends to give consideration to these and all relevant issues.
I have asked the SEC to respond directly to the Deputy with further detail about the RACE scheme and the ongoing review.
431. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of an application for incremental credit (details supplied); if the Teaching Council will accept the documents provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57337/25]
View answerThe criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). The relevant circular applying here is 29/2007.
These circulars provide for the award of incremental credit in respect of overseas teaching service, both within and outside the EU. Where a school satisfies the criteria set out in the circulars to have service at that school recognised for incremental credit, an award of incremental credit can be made. There is no contractual entitlement to incremental credit.
The teacher to which you refer is not awaiting the outcome of a CID application but has submitted one incremental credit application to the department with respect to their prior teaching service in the UK. The application is claiming incremental credit for teaching service in two schools, however, it is necessary to submit separate applications with respect to each incremental credit claim and each school must certify the details around a teacher’s service in their school.
The relevant unit of my department has advised this teacher directly as the requirements to have teaching service in both schools considered for incremental credit purposes.
The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2025. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The qualification requirements for each route are set down in the Schedule.
The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Their role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. They do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.
The Teaching Council has informed my Department that they have reviewed the query regarding this teacher’s condition of Droichead and will contact the teacher directly with regards to this query.
432. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 197 of 9 October 2025, and the fourth Topical Issue selected of 9 October, if she has reviewed this issue with regards to the shortfall in ancillary grant funding for a school (details supplied) following the move to paying the school secretary through the Department of Education; the actions she will take to address this shortfall; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57344/25]
View answerThe Ancillary Services Grant is payable to recognised primary schools and special schools in the Free Education Scheme. The grant is intended to cater for the cost of employing Secretarial and Caretaking staff. It is up to the BOM to allocate this funding as per their priorities. As per Circular 0040/2009 the capitation grant provided for general running costs and the ancillary services grant provided for Secretarial and Caretaking services may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities.
After Forsa accepted the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement about salaries and leave for grant-funded school secretaries, the secretaries who accepted the agreement were added to the Department of Education’s payroll from September 2023. Because of this, the ancillary-related grant funding has been updated, since schools are no longer paying these salaries directly.
Since the 2023/24 school year, schools have been paid the usual ancillary grant amount, minus the amount that schools previously paid to grant-funded secretaries prior to their acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Schools provided the Department with these details and this information is now being used to reduce the ancillary-related grant funding. Schools should be in no way disadvantaged by this, as the grant is reduced only by the amount they previously paid to their secretaries.
To date we have issued correspondence to schools with details of the arrangements for: September to December 2023, January to August 2024, September to December 2024 and January to August 2025.
In some situations, the salaries of ancillary staff in a particular school may have been higher than the ancillary grant due to the school, and the school may have funded this difference via other revenue streams. In situations where the salary that a school was paying their secretary was higher than the ancillary grant due to the school, prior to them being added to the Department of Education’s payroll, then the ancillary grant is reduced to NIL.
For the specific school mentioned the ancillary grant has now been reduced to NIL as the salary the school was previously paying their secretary, prior to moving to the Department’s payroll, is now higher than the ancillary grant available to the school prior to reductions being applied due to a decrease in enrolments. The level of funding available to the school for ancillary staff, including their caretaker, has not changed as the school is no longer funding the salary of the secretary.
The rate of ancillary services grant has not decreased and continues to be paid based on the relevant enrolments in the school multiplied by the rates set out in Circular 0017/2021.
Work is ongoing to identify a method of standardising the reduction to the ancillary-related grants for the longer term where school secretaries are being paid on the Department’s payroll. Note the reductions may change when a permanent model for ancillary-related grant reductions has been finalised.
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 cashflow management. Contact details for FSSU can be found on www.fssu.ie.
433. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the design stage of each project under her Department, in each county, and year of application submitted, in tabular form. [57346/25]
View answer434. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the number of projects under her Department that are at design stage 2B, and the year of application submitted, in tabular form. [57347/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 433 and 434 together.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects have been delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration.
Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.
The current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link (www.gov.ie). This information is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. Due to the substantial volume of projects involved, it is not feasible to provide a detailed list of all applications and their respective years of submission within the scope of this response. Should you require any specific information regarding any particular project, please let us know, and we will provide the necessary details accordingly.
435. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the name and location of UBU-funded youth services, per constituency, and the funding provided to each service in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026; as well as the number of staff and number of young people engaged in the service for each of those years, in tabular form. [57348/25]
View answerPlease note the department captures data based on education and training board (ETB) areas and not by constituency. All requested data is provided in this format.
Funding provided to each UBU Your Place Your Space (UBU) funded youth services in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, are provided below.
Regarding funding to be provided in 2026, arising from Budget 2026, an additional €8 million in current and capital funding has been allocated to support the sustainability and development of youth services. This investment strengthens the foundation for inclusive, high-quality provision — ensuring continuity, expanding reach, and enabling services to respond to the evolving needs of Ireland’s diverse youth population.
The Budget documentation published sets out funding for key measures and actions agreed for the coming year. As the Deputy may be aware, in line with standard practice, the final allocation of funding for my Department for 2026 will be set out in the 2026 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) which is due to be published later this year. Further details on the 2026 allocations for my Department will be available after the 2026 REV process is complete.
My officials are currently extracting the data related to the number of staff and number of young people engaged with these UBU services across the requested period, which will be forwarded directly to the Deputy at a later date.
Funding Provided under UBU Your Place Your Space (UBU) Scheme 2020 to 2025
*UBU became operational from 1st July 2020
436. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if all the construction-related reports required to progress a school building project (details supplied) advised by her Department in July 2024 to proceed with a new planning application, which should include decarbonisation, have been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57349/25]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers is at Stage 2b Advanced Architectural Planning. The brief is a new 32 classroom school with 2 SEN classrooms, GP hall and all external ancillary accommodation and external works.
A tender report was received from the Design Team in 2023 and was reviewed by my Department, during the course of this review it was noted that the Planning Permission was due to expire in December 2023 and a new planning permission application would be required.
Given the passage of time since tenders were returned and the requirement for a new planning application, the Design Team were authorised in July 2024 to collapse the former tender procedure and proceed with the new planning application. This planning application will include decarbonisation measures in accordance with Technical Design Guidance. The Design Team have liaised with Fingal County Council and are preparing the planning application accordingly.
The updated tender documents will include the updated Mechanical and Electrical requirements in accordance with decarbonisation measures, and compliance with any statutory requirements.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects have been delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration.
Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.
437. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will urgently address the matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57363/25]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with special educational needs.
In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department published Circular 0039/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child. An earlier date of 1 October was set for parents to do so.
The earlier date will allow for the earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026/27 school year, and it is the aim of the NCSE to sanction the majority of new special classes by 31 December 2025. It will also allow for work to progress on expanding special school capacity in certain areas.
The NCSE will have a clear picture of the local demand for special class and special school places for the 2026/2027 school year after they review and assess all of the information which has been provided through the parents' notification process which closed on 1 October.
Once the NCSE has fully collated and assessed this information, the NCSE will be in a position to engage with schools across the country to open new special classes. The NCSE will also have due regard to any vacant places in existing special classes in an area and any places that will be become available through the normal movement of children leaving primary or post-primary school.
I would like to stress that the NCSE will continue to support all children made known to them after this date also, however, it is important for planning purposes that we set an earlier timeframe for which the NCSE has as much local knowledge and detail as possible in order to plan what new provision is required.
In working to develop a more inclusive education system, we want to support students to attend their local mainstream schools. This means that children can be educated with their peers and are not required to travel long distances to attend special schools or classes. The vast majority of students with a special educational needs are supported to to this. 15,000 special education teachers have been provided to achieve achieve this. In practical terms this means schools get a substantial additional teaching allocation to support children with special education needs who are in mainstream classes.
The additional resources are intended to support students with the greatest level of need, including those with a specific learning disability such as dyslexia.
I will ask the NCSE to engage directly with the family as they will continue to support all families coming forward seeking a special class or special school place after the 1st October timeline.
438. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the options in place for the provision of education to secondary school students where there is a shortage of teachers for a core curriculum subject; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57382/25]
View answerThis Government is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience, with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are dedicated to supporting their learning.
There are more qualified teachers than ever working in schools nationwide. A recent analysis of teacher payroll data shows that there is a record number of teachers employed over 79,000 in all schools with 36,000 in post-primary. Like many sectors, recruitment challenges exist in the education sector, especially in urban areas. While most teaching positions are filled, some schools face significant recruitment challenges.
There has been a 20% increase in the number of student teachers graduating between 2018 and 2023 and over 30% rise in teachers registered with the Teaching Council since 2017. Between 2018/19 and the last school year 2023/24, through record investment by Government, the number of teaching posts has increased by 10,408 with 5,069 (17.8%) post-primary allocated teaching posts. Additionally, Budget 2026 has seen an increase of 1,042 teacher posts, including 860 additional teachers working across various special educational needs settings. Few teachers resign: less than 3% of the teaching workforce resign or retire annually from contracted teaching posts.
A range of targeted measures have been introduced to address the teacher supply issue including the revised Teaching Council registration regulations which allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State for a time-limited period up to 31 December 2027. This measure reinstates a facility that proved valuable during previous years in addressing teacher supply pressures. Recently, I also announced measures to help teachers to gain permanent roles more quickly.
In order to ensure that there are sufficient teachers in high-demand post-primary subject, a range of measures have been introduced. These include a STEM bursary and the expansion of upskilling programmes. Budget 2025 introduced a €2,000 bursary for student teachers in STEM fields to increase the number of STEM teachers available to schools. It is payable in the final two years of their undergraduate programme, in exchange for a two-year teaching commitment.
Upskilling Programmes expanded under Budget 2024 and continued in 2025, offering free courses to teachers in high-demand subjects. New programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science have commenced in 2025, with over 160 teachers registered on these programmes, and complement existing programmes in maths, physics, and Spanish. Additional capacity is also being provided in Initial teacher education programmes for home economics leading to increased numbers of students on these programmes.
To address the challenge of substitution, post-primary teachers can provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term and measures to reduce restrictions on jobsharers and those on a career break from working as substitutes have all been extended to the current school year.
In addition, promotion of the teaching profession as a career continues and workforce planning for teachers and SNAs is under way.
These measures are designed to ensure a steady flow of qualified teachers into the profession and reflect the commitment to ongoing investment in the education system to address teacher supply.
The teaching profession is highly attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes with 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024 including 1,856 at post-primary level. First preference data from the CAO for the February 2025 closing date showed continued increases in teaching programmes first preferences of 5% in post-primary.
Salaries are competitive, starting at €46,448 for post-primary and rising to €85,000 under the current pay deal. Over 75% of new post-primary teachers are employed full-time. 93% of teachers with 5+ years’ experience hold permanent full-time or pro-rata contracts.
My Department frequently consults and engages closely with stakeholders on issues such as teacher supply through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions with teacher unions. I will continue to consider further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce and ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.
440. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the additional accommodation project application lodged by a school (details supplied); the timeline for a decision in respect of this badly needed development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57401/25]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has submitted an application for additional accommodation, to meet the school’s accommodation needs under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme.
The purpose of my department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or at other schools in the area.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. A recent Government decision has approved €210m supplementary capital funding for my department which brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation the department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the Autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.
I can assure the Deputy that my department is very cognisant of the requirement around the delivery of accommodation for the school in question and is working to advance matters. The provision of required school places, including for children with special educational needs, is a priority for my department. My officials are working to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the school place needs in the wider school planning area for future years.
441. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the Abridged Estimates Volume for Budget 2026 for Vote number 26, including the provisional sub head and programme level allocations. [57422/25]
View answerParts I and II of the provisional 2026 Revised Estimates for my Department are set out on page 185 of the Budget 2026 Expenditure Report. This report was published on Budget day by the Department Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and is available at the following gov.ie website address: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-public-expenditure-infrastructure-public-service-reform-and-digitalisation/publications/budget-2026-expenditure-reports/.
As the Deputy may be aware, in line with standard practice, the final allocation of funding for my Department for 2026 will be set out in the 2026 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) which is due to be published later this year. Further details on the 2026 allocations for my Department will be available after the 2026 REV process is complete.
442. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Education and Youth for a list of additional school accommodation projects approved for County Offaly in each of the past ten years, 2015-2025; the date of their completion; if not yet completed, their current status and expected completion date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57429/25]
View answerSince 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects have been delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
Over 1,300 Large Scale, Additional Accommodation and Modular school building projects completed between 2020 and to date in 2025. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration. The current status of all projects is listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. A comprehensive list of all live ASA projects for Offaly schools is attached along with a record of all ASA project completions for Offaly schools from 2015 onwards. It is currently not possible at the design or tender stage to give the Deputy a timeframe as to when school projects will go to construction as progress depends upon many contingent factors.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.
443. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update in respect of opening the autism class in a school (details supplied). [57431/25]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with special educational needs.
The NCSE is currently collating the data and information received through the parents notify process and are engaging with schools regarding where specialist provision is best placed for the 2026/27 school year. It is envisioned that the majority of these special classes will be sanctioned by 31 December 2025.
Budget 2026 has provided funding for 3,000 new special educational places within our education system The majority of these places will be available in special classes within mainstream schools.
In order to ensure new special classes can open as quickly as possible the NCSE prioritise working with medium and larger primary schools who do not already have a special class and have available accommodation to accommodate new special class. This approach maximises the use of existing space which can be reconfigured efficiently while also ensuring that new provision continues to be established. It also increases the number of schools with special classes providing parents with greater choice and reducing the distances that some children are travelling to access a special class place.
However, as in other years where schools have no available accommodation, particularly at post-primary level and there is known demand in a local area, my department will continue to provide additional classroom accommodation to provide necessary places.
My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs and will continue to review and monitor the situation as to where new specialist provision is required.
444. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the internet infrastructure will be upgraded in an area (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56587/25]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland.
The premises in question is in the BLUE area on the broadband map which is available on my Department's website https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5634d-national-broadband-plan-map/.
The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services. The Department defines high-speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.
The activities of commercial operators delivering high-speed broadband (HSBB) within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and the Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard.
The premises in question is currently capable of receiving 68 Mbps from open eir’s local High Speed Broad cabinet per information available at https://bbchecker.comreg.ie/.
The premises is also included in open eir’s Full Fibre to the Home (FTTH) deployment programme per information available at https://www.openeir.ie/fibre/broadband-checker. The Department does not have sight of information that provides an estimated timeline of when open eir will provide a full fibre connection. However, my officials have contacted open eir to enquire about the expected timeframe for connecting this premises to their fibre network and have been advised that it is anticipated that FTTH will be available to this premises by the end of 2026.
If a person lives in the BLUE area and after contacting their Retail Service Provider are told they cannot get access to greater than 30Mbps, they should raise a query via the webform which can be accessed by clicking on “contact us” in the Contact section on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5634d-national-broadband-plan-map/ and the Department will escalate with the commercial operator to investigate this matter further.
445. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the amount that has been spent by his Department to conduct tendering processes for public infrastructure projects in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56688/25]
View answerIn 2024, the Department spent €69,000 on a contract for Advisory Services relating to the specification, implementation, testing, management and maintenance of a national Cell-Broadcast Public Warning System (PWS).
The Office of Public Works manages tendering processes for certain other Departmental infrastructure projects.
446. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when consultation will open for the permanent basic income for the arts scheme; the form that consultation will take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56774/25]
View answer447. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether artists on the pilot scheme will be eligible to apply for the permanent basic income for the arts scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56775/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 446 and 447 together.
I am delighted to have secured an allocation for a successor scheme to the Basic Income for the Arts pilot as part of Budget 2026. While the detail of the future scheme will need to be agreed by Government, this is a major milestone for the arts in Ireland and I am particularly pleased that the research my Department conducted provided Government with a clear evidence base upon which to make that decision.
The research has consistently demonstrated both the positive impact the BIA has had for those in receipt of it and how difficult it is to work as an artist in Ireland given the income precarity prevalent in the sector. The BIA successor scheme will help to sustain the careers of those artists who will receive it and retain their talent in the arts sector.
With an allocation of €18.27m in my Department’s 2026 Estimate, I look forward to the design and delivery of the successor scheme next year. Based on that allocation the scheme will support the practices of 2,000 artists in 2026 at €325 per week, with payment beginning in Q4 2026.
I can confirm that the BIA pilot scheme will end in February 2026, which is when the final pilot payment will be made to the current cohort of recipients. While eligibility is not yet finalised, a new cohort of recipients will be selected based on eligible applications for the successor scheme.
Stakeholder consultation and engagement with other relevant Government Departments on the design of the new scheme will continue to determine details such as the duration, eligibility and selection method, the details of which have not yet been decided. Once the parameters of the scheme have been agreed I intend to publish them.
