Minister for Education, Helen McEntee and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Michael Moynihan have marked World Autism Awareness Day by reaffirming their commitment to provide adequate school places for those with special educational needs.
Minister McEntee said:
“Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority of mine. While the majority of children with special educational needs attend mainstream classes, bringing more special education classes on stream is vitally important for those children and students with the most complex of needs.
“There are currently over 28,000 children attending special education classes in mainstream schools across the country, up from 17,000 in 2019. To provide more capacity in these schools, I am committed to providing up to 400 new special classes and 300 additional special school places, comprising of 2,700 special education class and special school placements for the coming school year.
“I am pleased to confirm that 369 of these classes have now been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), with more to follow in the coming days. The NCSE is working closely with these schools to ensure that the classes are in place for the coming school year. The majority of these places will be for autistic children. This is in addition to 5 new special schools that are progressing towards opening in the coming school year in Dublin, Cork, Monaghan and Tipperary.
“I want to thank all schools for engaging with the NCSE, however, I will not hesitate to use my statutory powers to compel schools to open any of the remaining classes if required.
“I, alongside Minister Moynihan, am meeting with the NCSE at least once a week to ensure delivery of these classes as well as the necessary supports, and I want to assure parents that this Government is fully committed to supporting autistic children and young people, as well as their families and school communities.”
Minister Moynihan said:
“As Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education, it is my priority to ensure that our schools have the necessary resources to support children with special educational needs in the setting that best meets their needs.
“I know first-hand the stress and strain parents can face in securing a special class or special school place. I want parents to know that I understand the frustration they feel but also assure them that Minister McEntee and I are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring children have an appropriate school place and we are working to finalise these places as soon as possible.
“The Department has invested heavily to ensure children and young people with special educational needs and their families are supported and provided for, including the establishment of new special schools; expansion of existing special schools; increased staffing, professional learning and grant funding for schools; increased resourcing of the Department’s Special Education Section, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS); investment in research and pilot programmes; and new policy and legislation to support progress towards a more inclusive education system.
“Notwithstanding all of this progressive work, I know that there remains some key pressure points. Intensive engagement with schools, patron bodies and education stakeholders should allow the NCSE to confirm additional special classes in the coming days.”
Minister McEntee and Minister of State Moynihan have asked their Department and the NCSE to commence forward planning for the school year 2026/2027 to ensure that new special education provision is confirmed earlier to provide certainty for families and allow schools more time to make preparations for opening new special classes.
