Eoghan Kenny presses for certainty on special education places

Last Ciann Comhairle, Tánaiste, this is a deeply serious and sensitive issue, children with additional needs and their right to an appropriate education. In recent weeks I've spoken directly with parents who are anxious and in many cases still without clarity on where their child will go to school this September. Tánaiste, you'll know it yourself, every parent asks the same simple question this time of the year. Where is my child going to school in September? But for these families, that question is still unanswered. When I raised this with the Taoiseach, he spoke about the exponential growth in demand, but could not guarantee that every child will get an appropriate place. Tánaiste, the government cannot say they were not aware of this. At the Public Accounts Committee three weeks ago, I put it directly to the department officials. They confirmed that a memo is going to government on this increased demand. When I asked whether government was aware of the situation, I was told clearly that the leaders of the government are aware that there is a substantially increased need coming. But I had to press this point, Tánaiste, because awareness of need is one thing. The real issue is whether resources match that need. And Tánaiste, despite repeated questioning, the answer was clear. The analysis is still ongoing to ensure that the state can meet that need. In other words, we are not yet in a position as a state to say that resources will fully match demand. So this is not just about growth. This is about the gap between rights and resources. Yes, there has been progress. I will acknowledge that. Absolutely. But provision remains too often reactive. Families are still facing uncertainty about long distances and last-minute placements. And we know a memo is going to government to address this. But families don't deal in memos. They deal in deadlines. They need to know now, will their child have a school place? Will it be appropriate? And will it be close to home? Tánaiste, if I can put it plainly, parents aren't asking for perfection. They're asking for certainty. There is also a wider issue of planning. The state still does not have a fully centralised system to measure and forecast need. That means we are constantly reacting instead of preparing. Do you agree that we need a centralised system through the National Council of Special Education? So three direct questions for you, Tánaiste. Will you put it on the record today that every child who requires a special class or a special school place for this coming academic year will be provided one? Secondly, how many children are currently seeking places and how many still don't have one? And thirdly, has this memo that the department officials told me about, has it gone to government and what actions will follow? Because Tánaiste, this is about rights and it is about resources. And unless those two things are aligned, families will remain stuck in the gap between them. Every child deserves not just a place, but an appropriate place. And every parent deserves certainty, not stress. Well, thanks very much, Leslie McGord. I want to thank Deputy Kenny for bringing up this issue, not for the first time. I know your professional and your political interest and priority in relation to this. And you are right, this is a real time of anxiety for many parents across the country, and we are acutely aware of that. I am aware of it, Mr Nocta and Mr Moynan are aware of it as well. And I think your comments have been quite balanced because, objectively, we have seen some progress when it comes to special education. So we now see special education funding being more than €3 billion this year. It is about 58% higher than it was in 2020. We are seeing now the majority of children with special education needs supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers, and that's as a result of a very significant uplift in special education teachers and special needs assistants. We've made a decision, as you and I debated in this House before, in relation to only proceeding with the review where there was an upward lift in SNAs. That means we were planning for about 1,700 or thereabouts additional SNAs this year. That will now be around 2,200, which means we'll have over 25,000 SNAs in our schools this September as well. We've already provided funding for over 400 new special classes and at least 400 new special school places for the 2026-27 school year, and it's intended that that would create around 3,000 new special education placements for September 2026. There will be a further memo going to Cabinet probably in the month of April, but I do want to say, because you're right, people don't live by memos, it's the kind of thing we do in this place, but in the real world it's what's happening in the here and now. So yesterday we saw 36 additional special classes announced by Minister Nocton and Minister Moynan. On Monday at our weekly leaders' meeting there will be a special focus on education by Minister Nocton and Minister Moynan as well, but we'll be updated on a number of these issues in relation to special education, special needs assistance, classes as well, and I think that's important. What I can say is we're working absolutely round the clock to make sure that no child will be prevented from starting school and to make sure every support possible is in place and can be in place as well. Now I do need to be honest, we are seeing, I don't like the phrase demand, we are seeing an increase in demand, we're seeing a very significant increase in need. These are needs. Parents aren't going around demanding things, these are needs that their children have. We're seeing a very significant increase in that need. In fairness to the Department of Education, to Minister Nocton, Minister Moynan and their predecessors, there was a real effort to try and get somewhat ahead of it this year with the opening of the portal in October, but through no fault of any parents at all, even after that period a significant number of additional children came forward, and I can understand why that's the case. What we're trying to do now is work our way through that. I don't have the exact numbers to hand right now, and it is a somewhat fluid situation. I think your idea of a centralised portal is a good idea. I'll certainly talk with Minister Nocton about it, I know she'll engage with you as well, because we want to have the best data possible. But the priority in the here and now is to make sure that we prepare as best we possibly can for September, that we put in place robust plans to make sure no child is prevented from starting school, and I'm very conscious of that issue you make about the clues in your community being vital for people too. Dr Kenny? Tánaiste, I do appreciate your response, and I want to return to what the Department officials have confirmed. They have said that the government is aware of this increased need, but they also made it clear that further analysis is needed to ensure that need can actually be met, and you referenced that in relation to, not using the word demand, but that the level of need has increased significantly. So the question that is being asked by parents, and it's very simple, will my child have an appropriate place for this September coming? Can you guarantee that to parents today, on the floor of the Dáil, that every single child that requires an additional needs place in a school will be given one, an appropriate one? Tánaiste, we must also ensure that the S&A debacle doesn't arise again. Do we know yet, and now you as the Minister for Finance, do we know yet where that 19 million euro is going to come from, and when will those schools that were told they would be allocated additional S&As, when will they be given to go ahead to appoint those? And that memo that will go to government, Tánaiste, when will families see those outcomes from it? Because Tánaiste, families cannot wait for more analysis. They need certainty, and they genuinely need it now. Tánaiste? No, I agree with that, but I do want to genuinely stress the point, Deputy Kenny, I know that Minister Nocturne is certainly not waiting for any further piece of work to be done. Of course, there's lots of further pieces of work underway, but in the here and now she's working to make sure that more classes are put in place, that more classes are opened, with a particular focus, and I want to thank schools for this, by the way, with a particular focus on schools where they have a physical ability, in other words, to open another class where there isn't, let's say, longer lead-in times as well. And I really want to thank schools right across the country who are stepping up and showing real flexibility and leadership on this as well, and I know the Minister does too. I'm pleased you raised the issue of the 19 million, because I want to say two things in relation to that. Firstly, where it will come from is total voted expenditure of 118 billion euro. So 19 million was a lot in the context of the SNA situation. It's very manageable in the context of total voted expenditure. Secondly, we do have contingency funds and the likes built into our overall 118 billion. And then, sorry, I said two points, three points. The third point is it will be additional funding to the Department of Education, so it won't be a question of Rob and Peter to pay Paul within the Department of Education, it will be an additional allocation to the Department of Education as well. Our absolute commitment is to work to make sure that every child who is due to start school in September can start school in September with the maximum levels of support possible. I'm conscious when it comes to appropriate, that's often, I suppose, not subjective, but it's often based on the best information available at the time to a family in a school, but we'll certainly be working to open more classes and working with schools, working with parents through the NCSE, and we'll have further engagement in confidence on Monday evening.