Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
494. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports that are currently in place and provided by her Department or agencies within her Department to support BOTPs and Ukrainian citizens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36906/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has put in place a range of supports for pupils who are Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP) arriving from Ukraine, as well as those in the International Protection (IP) process.
Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) were established in March 2022, as part of the whole of Government response to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, to support Ukrainian families with children of school going age arriving in Ireland. The REALT are hosted by the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs). Each REALT has a co-ordinator and, in order to ensure good coordination across the sector, the membership of the REALT included the Inspectorate, TESS (Tusla Education Support Service), education centres, the National Educational Psychology Services (NEPS), the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), Bus Éireann, Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) and school management bodies. In November 2022 the remit of the REALT was extended to include supporting families in the International Protection process.
My department greatly appreciates the on-going work of schools in welcoming children from Ukraine and those in the International Protection process. To support this work, additional resources are made available to schools enrolling these pupils. Schools with 10 or more pupils from Ukraine or pupils in the International Protection process may apply for?additional?Special Education Teachers (SET) resources. Where a school enrols 15 or more such pupils, it may also apply for additional Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, to a maximum of 25 teaching hours per week and a maximum of 3 SNAs on a temporary basis.
In addition, all newly arrived pupils who require support with English are entitled to English as an Additional Language (EAL) provision. This includes an allocation of EAL hours for an initial period of two years, with the option of a third year where necessary.
In the 2025/26 school year, my department allocated an additional 1,103 EAL posts to support pupils with English language needs. A further 237 SET posts were provided specifically to support the education of pupils from Ukrainian and in the International Protection process, 129 at primary level and 108 at post-primary level. My department has also allocated an additional 328 SNA posts to assist schools in supporting the education and integration of these pupils.
