Special Educational Needs

Thursday, 28 May 2026

Questions (315)

Jen Cummins

Question:

315. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update regarding special education for the coming academic year. [37946/26]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth

This 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.

This ambition is reflected in the scale of our investment with special education funding exceeding €3 billion in 2026 – up 58% since 2020.

The majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers, through the provision of resources and supports including over 21,000 special educational teachers and almost 25,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This is an estimated 25% of the total student population, or 240,000 children and young people with special educational needs, that are supported in mainstream classes.

My department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), continuously forward plan to provide additional special class and special school places for children with special educational needs. This planning has seen the provision of 16 new special schools and a doubling of special class places in recent years.

A further 4 new special schools will be established in Balbriggan, CityWest, Bray and Monasterevin.

This year an additional 546 special classes have been sanctioned of which 47 are inclusive special classes. This brings the number of special classes in our education system to over 4,200. The new approach allows students to learn mainly in mainstream settings while receiving targeted support in special classes, helping more children attend their local schools.

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 achieve their full potential.