2026-01-21

I raise an issue on behalf of one of my constituents who is quite literally pulling out her hair because she has no idea where or if she will place her child in a special school next September. We know that parents of children with special needs face many challenges and one of them is the assessments. Through no fault of her own, last October she knew she was going to miss the deadline because her child has been on a waiting list for an assessment. She made clear to the NCSE that this was going to be the case but only last week she received notice that there is no place for her child in September 2026. As one can imagine, this has caused untold anxiety because she cannot wait and her child cannot wait for a year, staying at home or wondering where to place the child. The Minister of State knows how essential early intervention it is to a child's progression and development. Children cannot afford to stay at home and stay still for a year without knowing. I would like to think this is just one exceptional case but unfortunately there has been a further case in my constituency. I believe this is going to be the case across the island. My ask is quite simple: can the portal be reopened temporarily to allow for these assessments to be put through, if available? We know that the waiting lists for assessments are to the detriment of the children, the parents and the family members in the communities. Can the portal be reopened? If not, can we give instructions to the NCSE to work on a case-by-case basis to find a suitable place for these children in September 2026?

I thank the Deputy for the genuineness of the question. Without filling it out, she has gone directly the core of the issue. I will respond accordingly. We have had a huge amount of investment in special education, which I am glad to see, over the past number of years and last year we expanded that. This time last year, after being appointed, the deadline was 1 February. We were then correlating and getting the information in February and it was March or April before we were in any position to help families or give certainty to them. My guide in terms of providing in this role is something that happened a number of years ago. I was at the school gate where one child was finishing in a special class and they did not know where they were going to go on 1 September for post-primary education. They were asking me for guidance and help. To see the fear, anxiety and concern of the parent in that instance guided me before I took this position but also in many challenges over the past year. We need to bring certainty. We set it as 1 October and brought it back four months so the Department, the planning and building unit and the NCSE would have an understanding of the need in September 2026 and we could better plan and ensure there is a place for every child whether in a special class, in special school or in mainstream. A lot of work has been done and a huge number of families and guardians notified the NCSE of the special education requirements for their children for September 2026. We are working through that. A number of families have come forward to say that because of different challenges, they have gone beyond that deadline. We acknowledge that 1 October was a new deadline. We need to get that into the mindset of the entire educational system into the future. The Department and the NCSE had extensive discussions with Helen McEntee prior to November and have had discussions again this week with Hildegarde Naughton. We are acutely aware of the challenge. The Deputy asked if we could work on a case-by-case basis. That is what we are doing. The deadline we set was, for the first time, 1 October. An awful lot of good information has come in and we are able to plan better. It allowed us to announce last week the first tranche of special classes, which happened four months earlier than last year. We have a number of families that notified after the 1 October deadline and we are working on that challenge. We will work with and support families. Deputies across the House have come to me on this. We will work on individual cases. Reopening the portal is not something we are looking at because that would further confuse things. We need to get the information earlier. We know there are specific issues in some families. Parents of children with additional needs face stresses, are trying to balance everything and may have missed it, or they may be waiting for an assessment or for the letters. We need to be mindful of the challenges they face and work to find a solution. I know the Deputy will share the individual cases directly with me and we will work on a case-by-case basis on it.

I truly thank the Minister of State for the reply and look forward to a proactive approach from the NCSE and local SENOs to finding a solution to those individual cases. As the Minister of State said, anxiety is being caused to families by so many issues. If we can alleviate it and make sure these children, who are very special, have the right structures in place, are not delayed any further and get their places in September, that will be a huge achievement for the child and the family. On Monday, I visited St. Ita's Special School in Drogheda, which has been in existence for over 60 years. I looked at the design for the new build it will share with St. Mary's. It is truly extraordinary but it struck me that before the build is complete, it will already be at capacity, which shows the extraordinary need that exists. I acknowledge all the work being done in the Minister of State's Department to get more resources and places on line. It goes to show we cannot keep up with the need and demand that is there. When I spoke to Miceál, the principal of St. Ita's, he made another point. He said that while everybody accepts the portal and the process being followed in order to meet demand, every time a child applies for a place in St. Ita's, the parents and child are invited into the school months before they are supposed to start. The piece of paper will say one thing - it may be an indication of the need for a special school or additional supports - but nothing will replace the knowledge and experience of a teacher or principal. We have to find a way to maintain the collaboration of the principals and teachers who are involved in this process. We need to get it right first time and make sure that when a child goes to a new school, it is the right fit. There is nothing more disturbing for a child than being in a place they do not belong.

I would like to pay tribute to Miceál, who is the principal of that school, and the teams in all the special schools across the country - the teachers, SNAs and all the additional people who work there. I was at a special school in the south of Ireland in September. As I was walking along the corridor, one of the team there was using a measuring tape because they were putting together a chair out of a box for a student. There was no notice taken of it when I stopped to discuss it with them. It was part of their work. The care, love and attention that teams in special schools and special classes, and indeed throughout the education system, give to children with additional needs across the length and breadth of the country is commendable. We have to be ahead of the need. The Deputy mentioned the need, the extensions and the fact those extensions are full. We have sight of what is needed for September 2026 and are working extremely hard. There were meetings right up to Christmas and again last week, when we announced the first tranche of special classes. We will be announcing more than 600 classes across the entire system to match the need for September 2026. Going back to the Deputy's original point, people will acknowledge that we brought forward the portal for 1 October. We need to do better on that. This was the first year of it. We have to work on it and ensure that a proper system is in place and that we see the figures long before time. The other thing is that we need Departments to share information like the domiciliary care details from the Department of Social Protection or the AIMS programme, so we understand the need early on as a State. These are some of the barriers we are trying to break down. The whole of government is involved in that. The Cabinet subcommittee is very clear on the need for a step change in relation to special education. I am fortunate to be in this role and working with Hildegarde Naughton on it. We are committed to doing this. There are and will be challenges but we are committed to breaking down those challenges. We will work to find solutions for those who notified after 1 October. I am open to the Deputy and to Deputies across the House. We will try to work on any cases raised. We do not have magic wands. They have not been given to us yet but we will work to make the system better. I thank the Deputy for her interest.