Special Educational Needs

I want to raise with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, Kilcoole Primary School in County Wicklow. Kilcoole Primary School covers two schools that have amalgamated, St. Anthony's and St. Brigid's. It was a really good news story. It got approval for a new build and an extension for the new school. The entire community was very excited about it. It is a really positive story. I was there on the day the then Taoiseach turned the sod. He spoke about how important this new facility would be for the children of Kilcoole. He also said at that stage that it would include special educational needs classrooms. It has since transpired that, despite a new building being built on one site and an extension being built on the other site, there is no permanent SEN classes being provided as no classrooms were included in the design, which is an incredible oversight, seeing as SEN classes have been requested by the Department over many years. There is an obvious need in the area. Building is happening at the moment with no SEN classes included. The Department has told the school that there will be four prefabs put on the grounds for children with special education needs. That is hugely disappointing. The Minister of State has done a lot of work in this area but children with special education needs should never feel like an afterthought. They should never feel second to everybody else in the school. There will be this fantastic new building that all of the primary school children will be able to enjoy, but then there will be a number of classrooms out the back for children with special education needs. I do not know if this was an oversight - I hope it was - but there is still an opportunity to get this right and include those children in this fantastic new build. The design team could incorporate permanent classrooms into the new build that is happening at the moment rather than sticking children out the back in prefabs or modular units. That is just not fair and it does not spell inclusion. I am really hoping that the Minister of State has some positive news for me on this because anyone looking at this objectively would think it is wrong.

I thank the Deputy for the Topical Issue. The Government is committed to the provision of specialised education for children with special educational needs. In the early part of budget 2026, we have already provided funding for over 400 new special classes and at least 400 new special school places for the 2026-27 school year. It was intended that this would create almost 3,000 new special education placements for September 2026. This would be in addition to placements created due to the natural movement of students, such as those transitioning from primary to post-primary or completing school. In April 2026, the Government agreed to additional funding for the provision of specialised education services for children across the country. This money is funding special education teachers, additional special needs assistants, SNAs, increased capitation, access to specialised school transport and start-up grants for schools opening new special classes and inclusive special classes. The year 2026 represents the largest ever expansion of specialised education provision in the history of the State. Through the combined efforts of the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, 587 new special classes have been sanctioned for the 2026-27 school year, including 70 inclusive special classes. This represents an increase of over 40% in the number of special classes being provided in 2026 compared to 2025. In total, there will be over 4,300 special classes operating in mainstream schools next year. In County Wicklow, 148 special classes are now in operation, providing capacity for 888 students. This includes 16 new special classes for the 2026-27 school year. In April, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I announced the establishment of four new special schools for the 2026-27 school year, including in Bray. Dedicated working groups including the Department, the NCSE and the relevant patron body continue to meet to support the establishment of these new special schools. Offers of placements have been made, new principals, teachers and SNAs are being recruited and it is intended that these new schools will open later in term 1 of this school year. The NCSE continues to advise parents at local level on developments. My Department is currently funding a large scale major project for Kilcoole Primary School. The Department has requested the current design team to master plan for future provision of specialised classes. Modular accommodation is one of the Department’s delivery streams for provision of permanent accommodation at schools. Having assessed the position regarding additional capacity for special classes, the Department has determined that modular accommodation represents the most cost-effective method for provision of additional permanent accommodation at Kilcoole Primary School. Modular expenditure is an investment in permanent accommodation in the same way as any other traditional form of construction. In the majority of cases, it is providing a permanent solution to accommodation requirements; it is not temporary accommodation. Modular accommodation is well suited to the school context. Off-site construction minimises disruption in the live school environment while factory precision and strict quality control deliver robust, low-maintenance buildings. Today's modular buildings represent a major advancement from earlier prefabricated forms and since December 2018, all new builds, including modular, must meet the near-zero energy building standard, ensuring high energy efficiency and sustainability.

I thank the Minister of State. I have seen some fantastic modular buildings but what they are not is the same as the permanent traditional building. The children who will be in those classrooms will know that they are in a different type of build. Those modular buildings will not look like the traditional build and the existing school and they will not feel like it. Those children will feel different. That should not be acceptable to the Minister of State with responsibility for special education. When the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, was Taoiseach and announced this school, he said there would be special education classes in the school. Why were they not included in the design? They should have been. The Government did not do it then but it now has an opportunity to ensure the design includes additional classrooms for those children. It is not acceptable to make them feel separate to the main class and the main school building. It just is not okay. It may be more cost effective and I have asked the Minister of State's Department for the information as to how much it would cost to modify the current build versus how much these modular buildings will cost. These modular buildings are expensive as well, so I would appreciate if the Minister of State could send me those figures. If the Department is saying it is more cost effective, it would be interesting to know by how much. It is not just about cost, though. It is about including these children so they feel the exact same as their classmates who are in the brand new building.

I take the Deputy's point and I can get the figures for her. In the provision of specialised education, we want to ensure that in special classes that are associated with mainstream schools, inclusivity is one of the major key pieces in it. In the ramping up of the provision and the capacity across the country, I have been at many schools and seen the work that has happened over the past while. We have made a very serious commitment and in terms of any new build that is going on, both at primary and post-primary levels, the first criteria that we reach out for is what is the provision for specialised education in all of that programme. Capital investment has to have provision at mainstream level, both for primary and post-primary schools. The school leadership brought the school through the amalgamation process and has an exceptional team working there. I take the Deputy's point about buildings but it is also about ensuring every child feels welcome. I know that is the case in this school. In all schools across the country, it is important that it is not just about buildings, be they brick and mortar or modular, and that inclusivity means every child with special education needs feels and is included in the school, insofar as possible. I have no doubt that that will be the case. On the question the Deputy asked about the financing, because we have provided so much funding this year, last year and again next year, we have to make sure we have provision for specialised education right across the country. I will get the figures the Deputy asked for.