Written Answers Nos. 525-539
525. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) was not permitted to advertise immediately for a newly approved SNA vacancy arising from the recent review; to confirm whether this post was intended to take effect immediately or from September 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45946/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling students with special educational needs to receive an education that meets their needs is a priority for this Government. It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of students with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where students with more complex needs require additional supports, special class and special school places are provided.
This is in keeping with policy on an inclusive education, which promotes that students will be supported to receive an education in the most inclusive setting possible.
The recruitment and appointment of Special Needs Assistants is a matter for the individual school authority. Department's Circular 0051/2019 sets out the current requirements for appointment as a Special Needs Assistant (SNA).
As the matter raised relates to a NCSE process I will arrange for your query to be forwarded to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
Deputies are also welcome to raise such matters with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas email address.
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.
526. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the specific trauma-informed training that is in place for Departmental staff tasked with dealing with applicants and querists under the survivor supports work in relation to the supports available for survivors of residential institutional abuse; if a policy is in place in relation to the need to minimise the number of requests made of survivors to retell details of what happened to them; and her plans to ensure more and better guidance is provided to staff to ensure that all interactions with survivors are appropriately sensitive to the difficulties they have faced. [45961/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can assure the Deputy that the staff within my Department who are engaging directly with survivors and their advocates in relation to the delivery of supports have received appropriate training in trauma-informed practice, are experienced in engaging sensitively and appropriately in that regard and will continue to receive appropriate training as required.
To be clear, survivors are not, at any time, required to recount their experiences of abuse as children in residential institutions and are not asked to do so by my Department.
The supports which are being delivered in accordance with the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Act 2025 are available to survivors who either received redress from the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) or, in a small minority of cases, received a similar court award or settlement.
Therefore, for the vast majority of applications, the initial engagement with applicants is to confirm, through the use of each applicant’s name, address and date of birth, that they received redress from the RIRB. This is done by comparing the information provided by each applicant with information provided to the Department by the RIRB, in accordance with section 18 of the Act.
For the small number of applicants who did not receive redress from the RIRB, some further engagement may be required to confirm that they received a similar court award or settlement.
527. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth if persons who interacted with Caranua are required to re-supply all details of their experience of institutional abuse while accessing supports for survivors of residential institutional abuse; if a GDPR-compliant means of data sharing and retention can be used in the management of supports for survivors of residential institutional abuse to avoid the need for survivors to repeatedly provide the same personal information, such as their names, proof of address, and other details that would have already been submitted to her Department and Caranua in the past. [45962/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the supports concerned are being delivered in accordance with the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Act 2025. Eligible survivors can apply to the Department to receive health and education supports, and details of how to apply for these supports were published in March of this year.
At the outset, it is important to make clear that applicants are not, at any time, required to provide details of their experience of institutional abuse. My Department only requests from each applicant the minimum amount of information required to confirm the eligibility of each applicant and to enable the provision of the supports concerned.
The supports are available to survivors who either received redress from the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) or, in a small minority of cases, received a similar court award or settlement. It is necessary to receive directly from applicants a certain amount of information to confirm their identity and that they meet either of these eligibility criteria.
This is done through the use of their name, address and date of birth. Applicants are also requested to provide contact details such as a phone number and email address to facilitate further engagement relating to their applications. It would not be possible to progress their applications without receiving this information directly from applicants.
Applicants resident in Ireland are also requested to provide their PPSN to enable the provision to them of medical cards by the HSE and to facilitate the making of education support payments. Applicants outside Ireland are requested to provide the equivalent of the PSSN, for example a National Insurance or Social Security number, to facilitate the making of payments. It is important that these details are gathered directly from applicants to ensure that they are up to date.
Finally, in order to make payments to applicants, it is necessary for them to provide relevant bank details and confirming documentation. Again, it is necessary to gather this information directly from applicants to ensure that the details are up to date and that the payments are received by the applicants.
528. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to consolidate the application process for supports for survivors of residential institutional abuse such that an applicant would have to deal with just one form, rather than three as is currently required; her plans to include a printout of the eligibility criteria as part of the issuing of those forms; and her views on the disproportionate barrier to access, placed on applicants with literacy challenges or disabilities by the current system of referring applicants to a website to view the relevant eligibility criteria. [45963/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra529. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to review the application process for supports for survivors of residential institutional abuse; and the way in which such a review will gather the direct input of persons who have experience of using the system as an applicant. [45964/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 528 and 529 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, details of the supports available to survivors, including application processes, were published on my Department’s website in March of this year. This information was also shared with survivor and advocacy groups, the Special Advocate for Survivors and directly with survivors who had indicated to the Department their interest in receiving information on the supports.
As the Deputy has outlined, three separate application forms were made available, to confirm applicants’ eligibility, to apply for health supports and to apply for education supports respectively. This was considered the most appropriate approach to progressing each application.
In light of feedback received from survivor groups and individual applicants, as well as the Department’s experience in processing applications (for example, where information is requested in an application form but frequently omitted), my Department is currently revising the forms to ensure that the application process is made as straightforward as possible and places a minimal burden on applicants.
It is intended to combine the eligibility and health support applications into a single form, as the health supports are applied for only once by each applicant. The education support payment applicant form will remain a separate form, as applicants may make a number of such applications over time.
In each case, the forms will also include some further explanatory material relating to eligibility, the nature of the supports, and the information required by the Department to progress applications.
I am also conscious that some applicants may require particular assistance to progress their applications, particularly applicants with literacy challenges. My Department has engaged Sage Advocacy to provide advocacy supports to survivors, and can refer applicants to Sage for assistance in completing their applications. Applicants can also contact my Department by phone, email or post in relation to any queries they might have.
530. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of persons who have successfully completed an application, who have commenced but did not complete an application, the number of live applications, for health supports, education supports, advocacy supports, funeral costs and certification relating to detention in a relevant institution, in tabular form; and if her Department is monitoring attrition rates associated with difficulties navigating the application system. [45965/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to applications for supports under the Supports for Survivors of Residential institutional Abuse Act 2025, my Department has, to date, received approximately 950 such applications.
This includes applications where applicants have provided all of the information required to progress their applications, as well as applications with only some of the required information.
With regard to incomplete applications, for example where certain required information has been omitted, or where an applicant’s eligibility has been confirmed but they have not yet applied for either health or education supports, my Department is following up with applicants on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are supported to complete the application process and to ensure that as many survivors as possible receive the supports to which they are entitled.
To date, approximately 850 health supports applications have been received although it should be noted that, as is outlined above, these are not necessarily complete applications. Having confirmed the eligibility of the applicants concerned, and having received all of the required information, details relating to approximately 550 applicants has so far been shared with the HSE so that those applicants can be provided with new medical cards in accordance with the Act.
In addition, approximately 800 education support payment applications have been received and, to date, approximately 600 such payments have been processed. My Department is processing the remaining applications on an ongoing basis, including through engaging with applicants to receive any outstanding information.
In relation to advocacy supports, in November 2023 my Department entered into a grant funding arrangement with Sage Advocacy to provide advocacy supports to survivors, assisting them in their engagement with relevant service providers. Survivors can engage directly with Sage, and do not have to apply for their assistance through the Department.
With regard to applications for funeral costs supports, this is a matter for the Department of Social Protection, so my Department does not hold any statistical information in that regard.
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that approximately 30 applications for certification relating to detention in a relevant institution have been received. My Department is engaging with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding the provision of these certificates.
531. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason her Department provides retrospective funeral grant funding as part of the support package for survivors of residential institutional abuse, instead of replicating the pre-paid model used by Caranua. [45966/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, Caranua was established in 2013 to disburse funding supports to survivors of abuse in residential institutions from a ring-fenced fund of approximately €110m which was contributed by the relevant congregations following the publication of the Final Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in 2009.
Eligible survivors could apply for funding supports in areas such as health, housing and education. Caranua revised its Guidelines in 2016 to expand the range of supports available to applicants to include, for example, household goods and funeral costs. These revised guidelines also introduced an overall cap of €15,000 in supports for each applicant, to ensure that the funding available benefitted as many applicants as possible.
Over 1,500 applicants chose to utilise the funding available to them by applying for their funeral costs to be pre-paid.
Caranua’s funding was essentially exhausted in early-2021 and it closed at that time.
With regard to the initiative which was approved by Government in January of this year, whereby Community Welfare Officers have been directed to give special consideration to the funeral costs of survivors, this is an entirely separate initiative which comes under the remit of the Department of Social Protection.
532. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth the internal policy regarding the education support grant for survivors of residential institutional abuse; if it is the case that officials are encouraged to grant the minimum payment of €500 to applicants; that there is a higher threshold for disbursing the informal €600 grant; if it is the position that applicants should borrow money to self-fund their education and training before drawing down the grant; her views on the adequacy of the support package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45967/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe education support payments referred to by the Deputy are being delivered in accordance with section 6 of the Supports for Survivors of Residential institutional Abuse Act 2025. There are two types of education support payment, supporting both formal and informal learning, and applicants can apply for both.
The criteria against which each application is assessed by my Department were, in accordance with the Act, published in March.
With regard to the €600 informal education support payment, this is intended to support the self-development and wellbeing of each applicant. Applicants are not required to specify or demonstrate to the Department how they intend to utilise the payment, and my Department is proactively engaging with applicants to ensure that as many applicants as possible benefit from it.
With regard to the formal education support payments, these are available to applicants who are pursuing, or who wish to pursue, more formal education and training leading to a recognised award. The support payments available under this strand of the scheme range from €500 to €2,000 depending on the level of the course and whether it is full-time or part-time.
For example, a part-time course leading to an award at level 1 of the National Framework of Qualifications would qualify for a €500 support payment, while a full-time course leading to a level 7 award would qualify for a €2,000 support payment.
This is in addition to any other supports which might be available to each applicant.
Each application for a formal education support payment is assessed individually by my Department in accordance with the criteria referred to above and based on the information provided by each applicant. Where further information is required, my Department engages with the applicant concerned.
Before a payment can be processed each applicant is also required to demonstrate that they have registered for the course and, where a fee applies, that they have paid for the course. However, once this has been demonstrated my Department can provide the applicant with the relevant payment very quickly. I can inform the Deputy that a number of applications for the maximum €2,000 payment have been approved and paid to date.
533. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the level of staff sanctioned for the summer programme in a school (details supplied) given that the resources allocated will not cover the demand for provision and will mean the school will have to refuse eligible pupils a place on the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45968/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of the 2026 Summer Programme were communicated to all schools on the 6th May 2026.
All schools have been offered the opportunity to run a school-based programme for children with the most complex special educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage. Where a school does not intend to run a school-based programme or there is no place on the programme for an eligible child, schools were invited to make an application for the home-based programme.
As communicated to all schools at the outset, it is intended that schools will be engaged with on an individual basis in the week commencing the 25th May. During that period, schools will receive a follow-up email confirming the number of pupils approved to participate in this year’s programme, along with their school’s assigned staffing allocation. This approach ensures that each school receives clear, tailored information to assist with effective planning.
In the case of the school referred to by the Deputy, Department officials have confirmed that they are actively engaging with the school regarding its Summer Programme allocation with a view to maximising the number of children participating in line with the resources sanctioned.
534. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth when home-based summer provision sanction letters will be issued for summer 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45969/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of the 2026 Summer Programme were communicated to all schools on the 6th May 2026.
All schools have been offered the opportunity to run a school-based programme for children with the most complex special educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage. Where a school does not intend to run a school-based programme or there is no place on the programme for an eligible child, schools were invited to make an application for the home-based programme.
Decisions regarding a child’s placement on the home based programme will be communicated to schools and to parents/guardians in the week commencing the 21st June.
535. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the SET posts at primary school level for the years 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45970/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my department provides Special Education Teacher (SET) supports to primary schools to ensure that pupils with special educational needs receive appropriate additional teaching support.
The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special education learning needs, is the class teacher.
The special education teaching (SET) allocation provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the learning needs of students in mainstream classes based on their profile of need.
The SET allocation model distributes the total available number of Special Education Teaching posts in line with each school’s profile of need.
It is a distribution model to ensure that the children with the greatest level of need in mainstream can get access to additional teaching support.
The allocation model uses data from schools to complete allocations annually. This data includes, enrolment data, data on educational needs profiles (literacy and numeracy) and data on educational disadvantage.
The number of SET posts allocated at primary level by school year and by county is available on the NCSE website annually.
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.
536. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary schools that have lost mainstream teaching posts for 2026-2027, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45971/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra538. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the mainstream teaching posts at primary school level for 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45973/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra539. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if it is confirmed that overall, 498 classes will be lost at primary school level for 2026-2027; the number of these that are due to ‘split classes’; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45974/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 538 and 539 together.
Priority was given in recent Budgets to reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. Teacher allocations for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools have also been improved and now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.
The primary school staffing arrangements for the 2026/27 school year are set out in Circular 0025/2026. The allocation process for the 2026/27 school year is currently underway and will not be finalised until the Autumn, when the staffing appeal and projected enrolment processes have been completed.
The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible taking all relevant contextual factors into account (e.g. classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment etc.).
The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data in relation to our schools, including information on pupil teacher ratio and the number of classes in each individual school. Information on the 2024/25 school year has been published, while data on the current school year will be available during the summer.
537. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary schools that have lost SET teaching posts for 2026-2027, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45972/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my department provides Special Education Teacher (SET) supports to primary schools to ensure that pupils with special educational needs receive appropriate additional teaching support.
The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special education learning needs, is the class teacher.
The special education teaching (SET) allocation provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the learning needs of students in mainstream classes based on their profile of need.
The SET allocation model distributes the total available number of Special Education Teaching posts in line with each school’s profile of need.
It is a distribution model to ensure that the children with the greatest level of need in mainstream can get access to additional teaching support.
The allocation model uses data from schools to complete allocations annually. This data includes, enrolment data, data on educational needs profiles (literacy and numeracy) and data on educational disadvantage.
I can confirm that only one school nationally had a reduction of a full SET post for the school year 2026/27 school year. The school in question had a reduction of over 40% in pupils enrolled and hence the school's profile of learning need had reduced significantly.
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.
