Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2026
171. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a breakdown of special educational needs provision in County Cork, including the number of special education teachers and the total number of special needs assistants for each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50018/26]
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.
I wish to advise the Deputy that my department provides Special Education Teacher (SET) supports to schools to ensure that pupils with special educational needs receive appropriate additional teaching support.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on care support for children and young people with special educational needs in our schools, including the allocation of special needs assistant (SNA) support to school
By the end of this year there will be close to 21,000 special educational teachers and almost 25,000 SNAs in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools.
The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special education learning needs, is the class teacher.
The number of SET and SNA posts allocated annually at primary, post primary and special school level for the years mentioned is available on the NCSE website broken out by school year and by county.
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. 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 69 for Cork. Further new special classes may be confirmed in the coming weeks, if required.
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.
