Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
663. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Education and Youth the protocols which currently exist to allow for the sharing of needs-based assessment information between the HSE and schools, with parental consent; whether the absence of shared assessments contributes to duplicated assessments, delayed supports, or inconsistent planning for children with additional needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10486/26]
View answer666. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has considered introducing a needs-based model for the allocation of educational supports for children with additional needs, aligned with the functional needs approach used by the HSE; whether any reviews, pilot initiatives, or reform proposals are currently underway in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10493/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 663 and 666 together.
The Department of Education aims to facilitate every individual through learning, to achieve their full potential and to ensure that the education system upholds the rights of every individual to receive an education appropriate to their needs.
To support this, there has been significant growth and investment in disability and special education related supports for students in Ireland. We have been steadily building on our SET and SNA resources to support this. There are now over 44,000 of these specialist posts allocated to schools nationwide.
As part of budget 2026, investment in special education has increased to €3 billion and allows for the recruitment of an additional 860 special education teachers, 1,717 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and the provision of an additional 3,000 places in special schools and special classes as well as the roll out of the new Educational Therapy Service.
It is Department policy, in accordance with the principles of inclusive education, that, to the greatest extent possible, students with additional learning needs are supported in mainstream classes along with their peers, with additional supports provided as necessary.
The Continuum of Support is the framework developed by NEPS for schools to identify, plan and provide support for children and young people who experience difficulties with their learning. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) supports schools in implementing the Continuum of Support framework with each school taking responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and supports for children and young people with special educational needs. Under this model, a child or young person does not require a psychological assessment diagnosis in order to access additional support at school. This Continuum of Support framework recognises that special educational needs occur along a continuum, ranging from mild to more significant, and from transient to enduring. It recognises that children require different levels of support depending on their identified educational needs, and that needs may change over time. Using this framework helps to ensure flexible and timely allocation of supports, so that those children with the greatest level of need have access to the greatest level of support.
Primary and post-primary schools make provision for students with special educational needs (SEN) through a continuum of interventions ranging from additional support teaching in mainstream schools through to more specialist placements either in a special class or a special school depending on the level of complexity of need. Schools are required to target their additional resources at those students requiring the greatest level of support. Children/young people do not require a psychological assessment or a diagnosis in order to access additional support at school.
Schools are provided with the resources, through the special education teacher allocation model, to assist them in meeting the needs of their students. It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified students, in accordance with the Department's guidance. Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers have been published on the Department’s website, at - gov.ie - SET Guidelines and supporting documentation to aid schools in supporting Children/Young people with Special Education Needs.
Planning for students is very important, but the staff involved, and the level of planning and review required is dependent on the individual student's identified needs and circumstances, therefore schools make these decisions on who is involved in the planning and review meetings as well as frequency etc. Collaboration is a key principle of the Guidelines but it up to each school depending on their contexts and the students they teach to make decisions on systems and structures to organise and provide supports.
It is important to note that since 2017 children and young people in mainstream classes have not required a specific diagnosis to access mainstream supports from the 15,000 special education teachers in our school system. In addition, the Department has removed the requirement for any health-based information to support transitions from a primary to a post-primary special class and/or for additional SNA requirements.
The Assessment of Need (AON) is a statutory process under the Disability Act (2005) whereby the Health Service Executive (HSE) reports on the health and education needs of a child/young person. The provision of Guidelines, including any data sharing arrangements for the assessment of needs process is a matter for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the HSE.
