Written Answers Nos. 415-434
415. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to ensure the inclusion of persons who are nonverbal in redress schemes run by her Department and intended to compensate and give justice to survivors of institutional abuse. [49777/26]
View answerInformation on the supports available to survivors of abuse in residential institutions is available online at www.gov.ie/survivorsupports. This includes information on the applications processes and contact details for my Department.
Officials in my Department are aware that some applicants may need additional support in completing the application process and are available to engage with family members or other advocates who wish to engage with the Department on behalf of such applicants.
In addition, my Department has engaged Sage Advocacy to provide advocacy supports directly to survivors. Sage has a strong track record in providing such supports to healthcare patients, older persons and vulnerable adults, and can be contacted via its website, www.sageadvocacy.ie, or by phone at 01 536 7330.
My Department can also request that Sage provides direct assistance to applicants as required.
416. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the provision of a special class for a school in County Kildare (details supplied). [49798/26]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.
The NCSE actively encourage expressions of interest from schools to open special classes, and I appreciate and commend the efforts taken by boards of management in expressing their interest.
My department and the NCSE continue to work closely with school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools to confirm new special classes for the next school year 2026/2027. The NCSE began sanctioning new special classes in January of this year, which is several months earlier than last year.
In addition, I recently announced inclusive special classes as part of a new approach to supporting students with additional needs. This is one of many ways my department is actively engaging to meet the increased demand.
580 new special classes have been sanctioned to date, including 64 inclusive special classes. This brings the total number of special classes sanctioned to date to over 4,300. Further new special classes may be confirmed in the coming weeks, if required.
The earlier sanctioning of new classes provides clarity for parents and allows schools more time for the planning and establishment of new special classes. The vast majority of new special classes being announced are being provided in available school accommodation which is being reconfigured as a special class. Each special class at primary level is allocated 1 teacher and 2 SNAs and at post-primary level, schools receive 1.5 teachers and 2 SNAs. Details of the new special classes are available on the NCSE website.
Of the 580 new special classes, 378 are being established in primary schools and 202 in post-primary schools. New special classes are being established in every county with 32 new special classes confirmed for Kildare so far.
Schools seeking to establish new special classes should continue to engage with the NCSE at local level. In sanctioning new special classes, the NCSE have due regard to the level of need in an area and the existing provision, including how many places are expected to be available through the normal movement of students from primary to post-primary or finishing school.
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.
417. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the construction of a new school building for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49799/26]
View answerThe brief for the project referred to by the Deputy is to provide a new permanent school building for the school. This project is designed to be delivered in 2 phases; Phase 1 will deliver accommodation for 425 students and Phase 2 will deliver the remaining accommodation to provide for a Long Term Projected Enrolment of 1,000 students, at the former Magee Barracks site in Kildare.
The Design Team lodged their initial application for planning permission for the preferred design option with the Local Authority in October 2023. The Design Team subsequently received a substantial Request for Further Information (RFI) from the Local Authority in respect of the planning application. Following the Design Teams RFI response to the Local Authority, the Design Team received the Local Authority’s initial decision to grant planning permission, with conditions, on 09 October 2024.
The initial grant of planning decision was appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) (formally An Bord Pleanála) in October 2024 and the Design Team received ACP’s decision to grant planning permission in early February 2025.
The project is currently at Stage 4 - Construction. The letter of intent (LOI) issued to the successful tenderer in March 2026. The Department gave authorisation to issue the LOA on 7th May 2026.
Construction commenced on site on 19th June 2026 and the estimated contract duration time is 22 months.
Department officials will continue to liaise with the School's authorities regarding next steps.
418. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the construction of a new special school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49800/26]
View answerThe school referred to by the Deputy is one of the five new special schools that have been established for the 2026/27 school year. This school will be located in a former school building in Monasterevin that is being acquired by the Department of Education and Youth and that is being repurposed to make it suitable for special school use. The school will operate under the patronage of Kildare Wicklow ETB. The repurposing project is being delivered under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme which facilitates the progression of the project as quickly as possible. The programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided in a timely manner and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. This is a collaborative process between the Project Manager, School Authority and the Department.
419. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been brought to a policy in place in some schools regarding the rental of spaces outside of school hours (details supplied); if consideration has been given to the impact of the policy on local sports clubs and other organisations who rent the spaces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49826/26]
View answerThe management of school facilities for use outside of hours is a matter for the relevant school authorities. The onus is on school authorities to ensure that sufficient arrangements are in place for the save and secure use of the premises.
The department published procedures on the use of school property and school sports facilities outside of school hours to assist school authorities when entering arrangements with local and community groups. A key principle of these procedures is that such arrangements should be self-financing. At a minimum, any charges applied should cover costs such as maintenance, utilities, additional insurance, legal requirements, and any other associated overheads.
As the arrangement to use the facilities is between the relevant school authority and the community group, it is appropriate that these parties discuss the matter to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
420. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department has put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bí Cineálta anti-bullying policy framework; whether data is being collected for this purpose; and if so, if she will outline the data being collected, and any plans to publish the results. [49827/26]
View answer421. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next formal review of the Bí Cineálte policy framework is scheduled; and whether submissions from students, parents, schools and representative organisations will be accepted as part of that review. [49828/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 421 together.
Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was published on 1st December 2022. Cineáltas is my department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying behaviour in schools.
Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying behaviour including cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in schools. It is centred on a child rights-based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour in our schools.
The effectiveness of the action plan is being assessed from a number of different perspectives.
My department has established a Cineáltas Implementation and Evaluation Group, which is chaired at Assistant Secretary General level. The membership of this group contains high-level representation from the relevant action areas in Cineáltas. This ensures that accountability is maintained for each of the 61 actions in Cineáltas.
This group is also responsible for the publication of annual reports, which chart the progress of Cineáltas.
The reports also contain feedback on the implementation of Cineáltas and measures to prevent and address bullying behaviour, from children and young people, parents, school staff and education stakeholders.
The first implementation report, covering work during 2023 was published in July 2025, with the second report covering the period to December 2024 published in January 2026.
As of 31 December 2024, 20 of the 61 individual actions were fully implemented. Each of the 31 remaining actions were in progress. 17 of these are ongoing actions which will continue to be progressed through the lifetime of Cineáltas.
The third Implementation report, which provides an update on the implementation of Cineáltas during 2025, will be published in the coming weeks. Further reports will be published in 2027 and 2028.
As part of Cineáltas, my department’s Inspectorate also produces annual reports entitled Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour. The first Inspectorate report, Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2023) was published in 2024. That report drew on survey responses from over 2,300 children and young people, 3,300 parents, 800 teachers and 64 principals across 106 schools.
This second Inspectorate report, Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2024), was published as part of the Inspectorate’s annual report was informed by data that was gathered through an online survey that was conducted during Anti-Bullying Week 2024. Responses were gathered from 4,818 children and young people, 5,155 parents and 1,336 principals and teachers.
Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2025) was published in April 2026. A total of over 3,900 children and young people responded to an online survey, representing primary schools, post-primary schools and a small number of special schools. Respondents included fifth and sixth class children in primary schools and young people across all year groups in post-primary schools. The survey was augmented by focus groups drawn from primary, post-primary and special school settings, including both
English-medium and Irish-medium schools. Participating schools represented DEIS and non-DEIS contexts, urban and rural settings, and a range of patronage types.
Further Inspectorate reports are due to be published in 2027 and 2028.
Another action under Cineáltas is to progress the development of a national database to facilitate data being collated in an anonymised manner to facilitate the development of an annual national report on bullying in schools. Officials in my department are currently working with the education partners to progress this action, and a literature review on international methods of reporting and recording of bullying instances in schools has recently been completed and will be published in the coming weeks.
At school level, the Bí Cineálta procedures to prevent and address bullying behaviour for primary and post-primary schools have been implemented in all schools since the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year.
The procedures provide for increased oversight and school principals must provide a report to the school’s Board of Management each month in relation to bullying incidences. The purpose of the update is to inform discussion at the board of management meeting in relation to trends and whether additional support is needed for school staff and students. It is expected that any serious incidents will be dealt with quickly and the board can decide if the school’s Bí Cineálta policy needs to be reviewed in advance of its annual review date. The school community must be consulted as part of a review of the school’s policy.
My department’s Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring schools’ compliance with the Bí Cineálta procedures. The Inspectorate conducts checks in schools related to various aspects of the schools' anti-bullying procedures as part of incidental inspections, subject inspections and programme evaluations. Whole School Evaluations (WSE), Evaluation of Action Planning for Improvement in DEIS schools and Evaluation of Action Planning for Improvement in DEIS Schools, and evaluations of schools in Special Care Units and Detention Centres which are more in-depth and whole school in nature also include more extensive checks.
The Inspectorate also carries out bespoke Promotion of Wellbeing in Schools Evaluations which were developed as part of Cineáltas. During a Promotion of Wellbeing in Schools Evaluation, the inspectors evaluate and report under the following areas of enquiry:
• The quality of the school’s work to prevent and address bullying behaviour
• The quality of the school’s work to develop and embed a culture that promotes wellbeing
• The quality of the school’s work to implement a curriculum that promotes wellbeing
• The quality of the school’s work to develop policies and plans that promote wellbeing
• The quality of the school’s work to promote wellbeing through relationships and partnerships
A formal review of Cineáltas has not been scheduled at this time.
422. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education and Youth the overall sum paid for prefab accommodation in a school (details supplied) in the past five years. [49832/26]
View answerPrefab accommodation in schools may be rented or purchased. The school referred to by the Deputy is being funded for the rental of modular units. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with the procurement of this rental accommodation, my department cannot release the cost information sought.
423. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the additional accommodation project for a school (details supplied). [49833/26]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter my department’s pipeline for a project under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The project will provide four mainstream classrooms, eight special education tuition (SET) rooms and a four classroom Special Education Needs (SEN) base. The project was devolved for delivery to the school authority.
This project is currently at Stage 2a (developed design). The stage 2a addendum report, together with the subsequent response from the school authority, is undergoing a comprehensive review from both a technical and cost perspective, in line with the requirements of my Department’s Infrastructure Guidelines. All school building projects, including this one, will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope, and cost is crucial to ensuring that the overall school building programme remains within the funding parameters.
My Department recently contacted the school authority to provide an update on the project’s status and to outline the current project prioritisation process.
Progression of this project will form part of my Department’s broader work under the National Development Plan (NDP) Implementation Plan. At this point, while it is not possible to provide indicative timelines for advancement to further stages, the project remains under active review and will be progressed when the wider implementation framework permits.
424. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department or NEPS has sought any change to the current accreditation or training standards for educational psychologists, including any change from a requirement for experience across mental health, disability and education settings; the rationale for any such change; whether an organisations relevant professional divisions (details supplied) were consulted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49869/26]
View answer425. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether NEPS is currently supporting, funding or facilitating educational psychology doctorate placements that are primarily or exclusively school-based; whether such placements meet existing PSI accreditation standards; whether any concerns have been raised by PSI, CORU, universities, the HSE or other child health services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49870/26]
View answer428. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the assessment that has been carried out on whether educational psychology training delivered largely through NEPS placements would equip graduates to work with children under five, non-verbal children, children with acquired brain injury, children with significant mental health needs, children requiring autism diagnostic assessment, and children requiring direct therapeutic intervention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49873/26]
View answer429. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether NEPS has engaged with the Higher Education Authority in relation to increasing the number of educational psychology doctorate trainees; whether NEPS has proposed to act as the principal placement provider for such trainees; whether the HSE, CHI, CDNTs, CAMHS and primary care psychology services were consulted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49874/26]
View answer430. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has examined the implications of training a significantly increased number of psychologists through school-based placements when major psychology shortages exist in CDNTs, CAMHS, primary care psychology, CHI and assessment of need services; whether there is a risk that public funding will produce graduates whose training is too narrow to work across child health and disability services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49876/26]
View answer431. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether graduates of educational psychology programmes with placements largely or exclusively in NEPS settings would be eligible and considered competent to work outside NEPS, including in HSE child psychology posts, CDNTs, primary care psychology, CAMHS, CAMHS-ID, CHI and assessment of need services; the discussions that have taken place with the HSE on this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49877/26]
View answer432. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the role additional NEPS-supported educational psychology trainees are expected to play in reducing assessment of need waiting lists, supporting implementation of the Autism Assessment Protocol and meeting the needs of children under five or children with complex disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49878/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 424, 425, 428, 429, 430, 431 and 432 together.
NEPS is the psychological service of the Department of Education and Youth and provides critical psychological services to the almost 1 million children and young people and almost 100,000 staff who work in our primary, post-primary and special schools daily. This service is at the coalface of supporting the wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people in our schools and encompasses a broad range of work. NEPS psychologists provide an individual casework service for children with additional needs and those at risk of marginalisation due to educational disadvantage, which may include assessment, consultation or intervention. They are the first responders when schools and school communities experience critical incidents. They also provide a support and development service for school staff.
As a government we have set our commitment to double the number of educational psychologists in schools and it is clear that we need to take decisive action now to significantly increase the number of educational psychologists in NEPS.
As part of that commitment, I very much welcome that, in addition to programmes running in UCD and MIC, Maynooth University is now offering a three-year Professional Doctorate programme in Educational Psychology, to support a substantial increase in the number of qualified educational psychologists available to NEPS. The increased number of graduates from the Maynooth University programme, however, will still not realise the numbers of educational psychologists needed in schools to support the inclusion and wellbeing of all children and young people.
NEPS ratios of psychologist to pupil is c.1:4,600 – currently we have only 1 psychologist for every 4,600 children in our primary and post-primary schools. Ratios of educational psychologist to pupil in France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium range between 1:1,300 to 1: 2,500. To bring NEPS staffing closer to the average of these ratios of psychologist to student will require a significant number of additional educational psychologists.
Officials in my Department, recently, have engaged with the Department of Further and Higher Education and the Higher Education Authority in relation to an Expression of Interest process that arose to provide for a range of new professional training opportunities across a range of health and social care professions. Prioritised amongst these were the creation of further training places for educational psychologists. This prioritisation was on foot of the commitment in the Programme for Government for Education to double the number of college places for educational psychologists. The HEIs have been advised, to ensure that proposals via the Expression of Interest process are in line with CORU Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes for Educational Psychologists. CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Practice placements as part of this programme will ensure that the graduate Educational Psychologists will have achieved all the Standards of Proficiency upon successful completion of an education and training programme.
Our ambition is to grow the access that children and young people in our schools have to educational psychology services. NEPS is a valued service and while committed to its expansion I am also committed to ensuring that the educational psychologists in NEPS are those of the highest quality and competence. All graduates of the existing educational psychology professional programmes in Ireland, and those of any new programme that is introduced as part of the current process, will be supported to the highest level by the NEPS service – the national statutory educational psychological service for children and young people in Ireland.
426. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of educational psychology trainees currently funded or sponsored by NEPS, the HSE or other agencies; the contractual obligations attached to such funding; the number of trainees who have sought to withdraw from NEPS-funded arrangements or repay funding in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49871/26]
View answerIn December 2022, as an immediate short-term measure, a bursary to provide financial support to Trainee Educational Psychologists for their professional doctoral training programme was introduced.
Since January 2023, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has supported bursaries for Trainee Educational Psychologists who are enrolled in the University College Dublin Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Mary Immaculate College Limerick’s Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology and extended the bursary scheme to the newly established Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology (D.Ed.Psych.) at Maynooth University in September 2025.
An offer of a Bursary Award under this Programme is confined to certain office locations within NEPS. In accepting a Bursary Award under this Programme, a student agrees and undertakes to work for NEPS for a minimum period of three years following the date of commencement of employment with NEPS (subject to satisfactory completion of the relevant probationary period).
Before accepting a bursary at the location offered applicants should satisfy themselves that they can commit to that location for a minimum of 6 years; three years of training, including placements, plus the commitment to work at the location for a minimum three- year period post-graduation.
Student must attend and apply themselves diligently to all the requirements of their professional doctorate programme, and to the successful achievement of all work, research, examinations and placements in connection with their doctorate programme.
Since January 2023, 110 trainees have accepted a bursary under the terms outlined. To date 4 trainees have withdrawn of failed to advance in their studies while a further 6 completed their studies but have sought to withdraw from NEPS-funded arrangements.
The number of educational psychology trainees currently funded or sponsored by the HSE or other agencies is a matter best addressed to the Minister for Health.
427. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of NEPS psychologists that are currently employed; the number of whole-time equivalent vacancies; and the turnover rate in each of the past five years. [49872/26]
View answerI would like to take this opportunity to outline the work of NEPS.
All schools have access to:
• General support and advice from a NEPS psychologist, either through the school’s assigned psychologist or through the NEPS Advisory Support Line.
• Support from a NEPS psychologist in the event of a Critical Incident.
• National and Regional Support and Development service for school staff which covers areas such as trauma informed practice, cluster group support for post-primary special education teachers and special class teachers, training for Student Support Teams and supporting reluctant school attendance/school avoidance behaviour.
• Access for individual casework where a priority need is established to either a NEPS psychologist or a private educational psychologist on the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) panel.
NEPS does not operate waiting lists. In common with other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS operates on a consultative model of service. NEPS psychologists provide a casework service for approximately 9000 children per annum nationwide. The psychologists may work directly with a child or young person, known as Direct Casework and this includes assessment, or the psychologist may work through teachers or teachers/parents to provide a psychological service for a child/young person, known as Indirect Casework. Assessments are only one aspect of the NEPS service.
NEPS encourages schools to support children and young people using the Continuum of Support, whereby school staff use a problem-solving approach evidence-based approach to intervention for children and young people experiencing difficulties in the school context, including those experiencing literacy difficulties. This process includes initial screening at school level. Response to intervention is monitored and recorded in the Student Support File. The teachers, parents and child or young person are involved in this process. Under this model diagnosis is not required for a child or young person to access a number of supports that can be implemented at school level in mainstream classes such as special education teaching support and SNA support.
If a school has concerns that a child or young person is not making reasonable progress following evidence informed support and intervention, the school may prioritise the involvement of NEPS to support the identification of need process.
Each year, NEPS staffing levels are evaluated and capacity to serve schools is established. There is currently a nationwide shortage of educational psychologists which has resulted in vacancies. Currently, NEPS employs 242 educational psychologists 235 whole time equivalent psychologists with 56 vacancies. There is an established pattern of attrition in NEPS averaging c.12 psychologists annually
Since January 2023, NEPS has supported bursaries for trainee educational psychologists enrolled in University College Dublin's Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Mary Immaculate College Limerick’s Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology. This has also been extended to students enrolled in the new professional doctorate in educational psychology in Maynooth University. Those in receipt of a bursary support the work of NEPS through trainee placements in the service as part of their studies and commit to joining NEPS upon graduation.
With regard to future staffing levels, my department is making every effort to recruit additional educational psychologists to address the shortage. Public Jobs recently announced a recruitment campaign for the recruitment of educational psychologists and interviews will take place shortly.
433. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the terms governing the campus arrangements for the new school buildings in Saggart will be finalised (details supplied). [49908/26]
View answerThe campus arrangements including for the school referred to by the Deputy is actively being progressed involving all parties with a view to having arrangements in place in advance of the school re-opening for the 2026/27 school year.
434. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether an organisation (details supplied) has provided a full breakdown of expenditure related to the most recent Olympic Games; whether it is correct that staff in the organisation chose accommodation outside of that provided by the Olympic Federation at an additional cost to the organisation; and whether he will require publication of the full Olympic expenditure report. [48893/26]
View answerSport Ireland, which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, increasing participation at all levels and raising standards. This includes the administration and distribution of high performance funding.
Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Sport Ireland for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to inform my office if a reply is not received within 10 days.
