Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
536. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the actions intended by her Department and the National Council for Special Education to ensure a sufficient number of special class placements for boys in the Clondalkin, Dublin 22 area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3762/26]
View answerThis government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.
Through the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school places over recent years, there are now over 30,000 students enrolled in special classes and special schools. 2,700 new places were created for the 2025/26 school year and these, together with the over 1,200 existing places due to students moving on from primary schools and post-primary schools, has meant that close to 4,000 specialist places were made available for the 2025/26 school year.
406 new special classes were sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 103 are in County Dublin, 81 at primary and 22 at post-primary level. This brings to 705 the number of special classes currently in operation in the county. There are also 40 special schools in County Dublin with approximately 2,643 students enrolled. Two of the five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year have opened in Lucan and Belmayne also.
In order to support the National Council for Special Education (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 through the Parent Notify process that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child.
The NCSE have formally sanctioned 168 (105 primary and 63 post-primary) new special classes in 159 schools across the country for the next school year 2026/2027. This is the first tranche of new special classes being sanctioned and is a number of months ahead of last year. The NCSE expect to continue to sanction further new special classes over the coming weeks. The earlier sanctioning of these classes will provide clarity for parents and allow schools more time for the planning and establishment of new special classes. Details of the new special classes are available on the NCSE website.
The NCSE remains available to provide advice and support to all families seeking specialist placement and will continue to examine where provision is required for the 2026/27 school year.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
