Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
537. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary schools that have lost SET teaching posts for 2026-2027, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45972/26]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my department provides Special Education Teacher (SET) supports to primary schools to ensure that pupils with special educational needs receive appropriate additional teaching support.
The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special education learning needs, is the class teacher.
The special education teaching (SET) allocation provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the learning needs of students in mainstream classes based on their profile of need.
The SET allocation model distributes the total available number of Special Education Teaching posts in line with each school’s profile of need.
It is a distribution model to ensure that the children with the greatest level of need in mainstream can get access to additional teaching support.
The allocation model uses data from schools to complete allocations annually. This data includes, enrolment data, data on educational needs profiles (literacy and numeracy) and data on educational disadvantage.
I can confirm that only one school nationally had a reduction of a full SET post for the school year 2026/27 school year. The school in question had a reduction of over 40% in pupils enrolled and hence the school's profile of learning need had reduced significantly.
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.
