Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 May 2026
609. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion will meet with a group (details supplied), as he promised to do in October of last year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34934/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs indicated in correspondence with the group, while I appreciate the intention was to meet sooner, I am committed to meeting with the group and my office will be in contact to organise this in the coming weeks.
The 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. There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school places to support students with complex needs. To meet this need, sixteen new special schools have been established in recent years, and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. Five of these were established for the 2025/26 school year in counties, Cork, Dublin (2), Monaghan and Tipperary.
I recently announced the establishment of four new special schools for the upcoming school year 2026/2027; a vital step in ensuring that children and young people with special educational needs have access to the specialist supports and environment they need to thrive and reach their full potential.
The four new special schools will be located in Balbriggan and Citywest in Co. Dublin, Bray in Co. Wicklow, and Monasterevin in Co. Kildare.
It is estimated that a further 300 new special school places may be required each year for the coming years. When looking to provide additional capacity the department’s preferred option is to increase provision in existing special schools if possible. Where this is not possible in a region, the department and NCSE will consider the need to establish a new special school.
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. To date, 504 new special classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE for the next school year. This is a number of months ahead of last year and should provide greater clarity for parents.
Further details on additional new special classes will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Details of the new special classes are available on the NCSE website.My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for students with special educational needs and will continue to review and monitor the situation in County Cork and indeed nationwide as to where new special schools are required.
