Jen Cummins: Calls for Clear Data on Children Missing School Places

Ministers, I would like to have a conversation about your plans to publish the number of children awaiting appropriate school places on a regular basis. The reason for this is that it would be similar to how the department issues the homeless figures every month. It is in order to show transparency as to where you are in your department in terms of being able to tell everybody how many children do not have appropriate school places throughout the country. Thank you very much for the question. The National Council for Special Education has verified that there are 7,860 children and young people notified to them by 1 October 2025, meeting the requirements of special classes or special school place for September 2026-27 school year. Further children have come forward after this date and will continue right up to September 2026. Approximately 7,000 of the 7,860 children and young people have a diagnosis of autism. There's a general and adequate number of available spaces for children and young people with other diagnoses. The focus therefore continues to be on providing new spaces for children and young people with autism. The data continues to be reviewed and analysed by the E&CSE who will continue to engage with families. It is the experience of the National Council for Special Education that some families who contacted them may decide not to apply for a special education place. This may be where a place is not in a particular school of choice or where the student is already being supported appropriately in their existing school placement. Data available to the E&CSE shows that the approximate 75% of children and young people who come forward by the 1 October deadline are already enrolled in school. As in previous years, the priority groups for access to specialised placement in 2026-27 are those without a school place, namely young children moving into primary school and children moving from primary to post-primary school. Children without a place, such as those moving from one area to another or where previous placements have broken down. Budget 2026 initially provided for 3,000 new places. There are over 2,500 places available through the normal annual movement of students from primary to post-primary and finishing school. The additional funding that the Department of Education and Science got approved by government last month will allow us to provide further new specialised classes and special school places over and above the 3,000 new places already budgeted for. The National Council can confirm that there are 546 special classes for the next school year. I might come back to the point in the supplementary questions. I'm delighted that there is the portal methodology and all that, so that we can get a handle on what the picture is, but the question still remains is, of the children who have not yet got a placement, do any of those schools need to have a building built and how long is that going to take and where will they be housed or schooled before that is ready? Also did you have to use your powers of, I think it's section 37, to ensure that schools don't have inappropriate school places and also we still don't know what the number is. I could use the power of deductions, I'm not great at maths, but it would be really helpful if we just knew what that number was. Why are you giving me the numbers that applied rather than the ones that they don't have a place? Because anecdotally there are children who don't have an appropriate school place. And I am wondering why then are parents applying to the portal, I know they have to notify you, but is there a tick box in that portal that says I don't need a place, I'm fine, or do you have to trawl through the whole thing, creating a lot of difficulty? Would it be better to put that box saying I don't need a place, I'm just letting you know my child has an additional need? Thank you very much for the question. Over 80% of the new special classes that are opened across the schools, the 546 that have been sanctioned to date, over 80% of them are in existing buildings and we are working extensively, we are acutely aware where additional accommodation has to be made, that's a factor into how fast we can have the class in place. So all of those things, I suppose there's a number of issues that we take into account when we talk about new special classes, is the need within the area to have the need as close to the children as is possible. And the portal on the 1st of October has given us great insight into the level of need and I think it is important when a parent wants to go on the portal and say that their child will need a special education requirement, that then it because us, the department and the NCAC to reach out and to understand the need with every family and I think the important piece is the fieldwork and the groundwork that's going on between the CNOs and the families as well to understand the particular need and the parents' concerns as well. We have used one section 37A last year but we are continuing to engage with schools and school communities to ensure that we have the minimum amount necessary. Thanks, it is good to hear that you are using that section 37A because I think it's important that all schools throughout the country take their fair share of caring for children in their communities and particularly when there's areas where there might be a high level of fee-paying schools, perhaps the child that's going to that school, it's the nearest school to them and if it's fee-paying, they also need to have that place, as does every school and I suppose as we're moving towards a model that the local school is where the child goes to, we still have a long way to go to get there but I am glad to see that the portal is creating options for you to know what the situation is because that was the whole plan that you had. So I'm glad that that's working out. I obviously would like more information because I'm in opposition and so many people contact me but if you do have a handle on this and you are able to work with every single family, that gives me great solace coming into the summer to know that every family will have a space for their child come September and if the building is not ready, that you have a plan going forward with that or if there's glitches on the way, that you have a plan, a very firm plan for those. Thank you. Both Minister Naughton and I are acutely aware and Minister Naughton has huge experience in this as well because she was in the role that I am in now in the last Dáil as well. So we are acutely aware when the numbers come through from the portal to make sure that we have appropriate places, a huge amount of work, 407 extra special classes were announced in 2025, we have 546 to date so between 2025 and 2026 we will have over a thousand special classes across the country and we have inclusive special classes which are 47, 15 at primary and 32 at post-primary and they are being welcomed within the community as well. But I think it is important that the portal allows the parent or the guardian to notify that there's a child with additional educational needs and then the NCSE has to work through that and engage with the families, then we engage with the school communities as well but there is a huge volume of work going on right across the board with the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education right through the year at all times and patron bodies as well within schools to make sure that we are doing the right thing and we have a lot of space this year but we are walking through every single family and every single requirement.