Paul Murphy questions school places for children with additional needs

It is the last week of the Dáil before the summer recess. When we return, the schools will already have started. The Minister for Education previously said it is my intention that every child needing special education will have a place come September. My question is very simple, will that commitment be met, or will children be left without appropriate school places? Over the course of the last year, parents of children with additional needs have done incredible campaigning work. Mothers like those from the Equality in Education campaign who are in the gallery have organised public meetings across the country. They have slept out twice outside the Dáil and outside the Department of Education. They organised an impressive march a few weeks ago. They put this issue, the incredible injustice of children having their basic right to an education denied front and centre. Their core ask is very simple. That every child has an appropriate school place in their local community. That children are not left at home without a school place. That parents are not pressurised into taking an inappropriate mainstream place where their children will not be supported. That children are not ferried across their county or out of their county on a daily basis. We know that 3,275 children with additional needs were notified to the NCSE and the Minister has said that 92% of those have an offer of a school place or a pathway to a school place. That means that 260 children were without any offer. But that 260 is only the tip of the iceberg. Because many of the 3,000 or so that do have offers do not actually have school places in September. They have a pathway to a school place. In many places a pathway to a classroom that does not yet exist. Teddy will be five years and nine months in September. After much struggle his mother Adrienne got a call from the school secretary two weeks ago from St Canis in Finglas and was offered a place. She was told that the place is subject to build. She asked for a timeline of the availability of the place and was told that they are in discussions. She is not holding her breath for it to be in place much before Christmas. Lucy who was five was offered a place but her mother who is in the gallery was told it will not be available until November. How many of those 3,000 will not have a place in September, Taoiseach? And how long will they have to wait? How have the classrooms not been put in place? How many will have to travel outside their local area? Will all those 3,000 get the appropriate supports they need? Some of them have been allocated places by the NCSE instructing schools to expand special classes. They are being promised then that additional SNA supports will come in. But will they? The additional 1,600 SNAs announced by the government have already been allocated and you are operating an irrational cap on SNA posts. But to go back to the 260, are they going to get school place offers or will they be forced to turn up outside the school before we are back, outside the Dáil before we are back? But first of all, maybe at the outset welcome James Maloney who is in the gallery today with his wife Deirdre. James is an elected member of the Parliament of Canada and is affectionately known there as the Minister for Ireland. I had the pleasure of meeting with him when I was last in Canada and I hope he enjoys his visit to the Oireachtas and his visit to Ireland because he has been a great friend to Ireland in Canada. Thank you. Thank you. James Maloney. James Maloney. Can I first of all say to Deputy Murphy that every child is entitled to and has a constitutional right to an education and it is our job as a government to vindicate that right, especially for children with additional education needs. Students and parents consistently highlight the value of special schools and classes, especially where there are challenges otherwise in the system and the provision of a broader range of disability supports. So this is a very key priority of government, I have established a cabinet subcommittee on disability more generally and I have established a disability unit within my own department to drive change and transformation in respect of all aspects of disability in Irish society. More specifically in terms of special education, about 407 special classes are being created this year with close to I think 2700 new special education placements for the 25-26 school year. An additional 1200 places are available due to student movement, bringing the total available places to close to 4000 for about 3275 students seeking them. So then the key issue will be in terms of geography and in terms of making sure that children have access to schools close to them and that is an important consideration. Minister Michael Moynihan and Minister Helen McEntee have both been working extremely hard on this question. We have also established and are close to establishing an in-school therapy service beginning with the special schools in the country to provide in-school therapists for children in special schools and then we will expand it to the entirety of special schools and then to mainstream education after that. Huge effort has been made to get places in position by September, working with the National Council for Special Education, who then work and liaise with schools. Some of the new special schools, we have five new special schools being established, some will not be entirely ready by September, although temporary schools or temporary alternatives are being provided in respect of those where building works are being carried out. For next year then, the year after, we are looking at bringing forward the application dates to make sure there is a better identification of the need earlier to plan for the subsequent year and as a pilot program as well underway in respect of a common application system that will be given to ease the work of the requirements. Deputy Paul Murphy. I appreciate that huge efforts have been made by those in the NCSE, people working in schools, above all by their parents, but it is not acceptable. This is the last leader's question you are going to face and you cannot now back up the commitment by your Minister for Education that every child needing special education will have a place come September. You are sending out the message that we have made a huge effort, but unfortunately some number of children are going to get left behind. You mentioned there that in terms of those who have been offered school places perhaps in October or November or December that temporary solutions will be put in place. You might expand on that because none of the parents know about these temporary... You might expand on that because the parents that I am talking to have to leave their kids in preschool if their preschool will allow them to do that. In some cases that is going to be a real problem, in another case they are going to have to stay at home, not do college courses they were planning to do or to mind their children. But can you tell us how many children are going to be left without appropriate school places? Is the figure still 260 who no offer have been made to? Deputy, you have asked the question, you are over time, so the Taoiseach will now respond. The Taoiseach will now respond. First of all, it is a character in Cork. There are alternations being made to an older school building there to facilitate a new special school. In the interim, the Grail School, which is no longer in use, has been used as an alternative location until the building is complete, but it will be completed before the end of the year, is my understanding. That is when I referred. There are five new special schools being established. It is our aim that no child will be without an appropriate place by September. That is what we want to do. We are going to work might and main to make sure that that becomes the reality. We will work with parents, we will work with schools and the NCSC to attend to those children who yet do not have definite clarity in terms of a school place. We want every child to have a school place by September. Minister Moynihan met recently with parents and advocates from the Equality and Education campaign, alongside with the NCSC, to address a number of key issues. I understand that parents have been kept updated on available places for the year ahead. The whole objective is to help them secure the right placement for their child as quickly as possible. Thank you, Tisha. Thank you, Tisha. Thank you. Thank you, Tisha. Thank you, Tisha. Thank you, Tisha. Thank you, Tisha.