Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
305. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a copy of the recent correspondence issued by the Minister for Public Expenditure; National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to her Department referred to in media reports (details supplied); if she will provide details of the percentage reduction(s) in spending in her Department referenced in the correspondence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36403/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 21 April, the Government agreed to provide additional funding of €646 million to the Department of Education and Youth to help ensure that high-quality education services are maintained for children and young people across the country. This agreement is ultimately subject to Dáil approval and will bring the 2026 budget for the Department of Education and Youth to €14.1 Billion.
There is to be no reduction to other education and youth services on foot of the additional funding agreed .
This will put the Department in a more financially sustainable position to meet the needs of a highly demand-led sector across the education sectors of almost 4,000 schools, a workforce of over 112,000 and almost 1 million children and young people and, in particularly, for special education where the need has grown significantly. The addition funding agreed includes provision of €19m for additional SNAs to support children and young people with special educational needs in our schools and provision of additional special classes to meet demand.
Demand for education services has grown significantly in recent years. In the past five years alone, there have been 38,000 additional students. There has also been a major increase in the number of children with additional needs. Today, one in four children, or around 240,000 children, require extra supports. This has led to a very large expansion in special education services.
My Department works closely with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation on expenditure matters. Over recent years, Government has provided significant additional investment in education, including funding for pay, capital projects, school transport, reduced class sizes, and expanded special education supports along with crisis related funding in response to Covid, Ukraine and the cost-of-living. It is a shared aim to ensure the education and youth sectors are put on a sustainable fiscal footing going forward.
There has been a range of internal and external financial reviews carried out my Department. There is no evidence arising from these reviews of financial mismanagement in the Education and Youth Vote that has a proven track record of accurately forecasting the costs required to appropriately fund the education sector. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted an assessment in 2025 and found that education in Ireland to be “at or close to the frontier” when it came to public spending efficiency when compared across other OECD, EU and peer countries.
Any queries in relation to the approach to overall Government funding should be directed to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
