The budget for special education is over €3 billion this year. The Deputy will recall that following the budget last week, we will hire over 1,700 additional SNAs and over 860 teachers in special schools and special classes. The first thing I would like to say is that the work being done by the teachers and the teams working in special schools or special classes helping children with additional needs throughout the c…
TDs / Michael Moynihan
Michael Moynihan
Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
5
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
133,123
words spoken in the chamber
133,123 as a minister, 0 as a TD
426
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
4
topics asked about
Across 3 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 5 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 382 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 27 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| April 2025 | 1 | 25 |
| May 2025 | 1 | 5 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 19 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 2 | 4 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 42 |
| January 2026 | 1 | 12 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 34 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 8 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 26 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 23 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 30 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 18 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 57 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 349 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cork North-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Education 29 January 2025 to 1 May 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth 2 May 2025 to now
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. Like the Minister, I congratulate all those who did their junior certificate this year. If I may be so bold, I want to particularly congratulate the students of Boherbue Comprehensive School, in which I have a particular interest. I congratulate Anna and all those who did so well. I wish them very well in the times ahead. It was fierce excitement for everybody wh…
I thank the Deputy for raising this sensitive matter before us. I assure him that clarity was brought on the issue of the SNA guidelines but there were some concerns in relation to them. Nothing has changed. We are working off the circulars for 2014 and that will continue to be case. I would like to allay the fears that some people have in relation to the guidelines and the letters issued last week. We understand the…
I take the Deputy's point and thank him for putting the matter relating to Tiernan and his care needs on the record of the Dáil. I could give him a long-winded answer, but I take the point he has made and I assure him I understand the importance of SNAs in enabling students like Tiernan across the country to access education and get better outcomes. I undertake to consult the NCSE and liaise with the Deputy in a time…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The question was about the impact of the delays in the Cavan-Monaghan area. I can speak to the amount of work being done by SNAs, which I have spoken about in response to Deputy Ó Murchú's matter, and the commitment of the Government to SNAs. Special education is built on the huge commitment by SNAs the length and breadth of the country and I thank them for the work they do. …
I thank the Deputy. First, when a child is in preschool and is availing of the AIM programme, something I noticed when I got this role was that in the Department of children and the Department of Social Protection the information that was across the system was not being shared. Children who are in preschool and availing of the programme should be very much taken into account when they start off in primary school as w…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the crisis in the youth services in the north inner city, which gives me an opportunity to set out the position regarding these services. Supporting youth services is an absolute priority for the Department of Education and Youth, ensuring that young people in the north inner city of Dublin and across the country have access to valuable resources and opportunities.
The UBU…
I thank the Deputy for his second contribution. As outlined, the Department provides significant support to the UBU scheme for youth services that support young people in the north inner city. Many communities across the length and breadth of the country are looking for the same intervention as has happened in the north east inner city and north inner city. They are looking at resources that I outlined in the previou…
I thank the Deputy for the question. The guidelines that were issued last week in relation to the SNAs were reaffirming the 2014 circular that forms the basis of SNAs being employed within schools. There was some misinformation last week in relation to it. I can assure the Deputy that the allocation of two SNAs for the special classes, of whatever form they are, is sacrosanct. It is hugely important that we get that …
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to address the House and provide an update on the provision of school transport. This is a hugely important issue, particularly for children and young people with additional needs and their families, many of whom require school transport provision to support children in attending school. I pay tribute to my colleague the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and thank her for her g…
I thank all those who contributed to the debate. Somebody said to me anecdotally that the school bus service was quiet this year and that there were not so many issues with it. After the past three and a half hours, I can see the issues quite clearly. The genuine commitment shown by Members on all sides in respect of school transport issues this afternoon is heartening. Everybody, whether in opposition or in governme…
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Eireann" and substitute the following:
"notes that:
— a child's right to education is enshrined in the Constitution and, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), must be accessible on an equal basis with others in the community in which they live; and
— the Government is committed to ensuring that each child an…
-----and that we will have a place for everyone. The most important thing is that we have sufficient capacity in schools. We must work to ensure we meet the needs of every student and every family and that is the commitment I give to the House this evening.
The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. In the current school year, more than 173,000 children have been transported daily in approximately 8,200 vehicles across 10,600 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In relation to the number of children who applied and paid on time and were unsuccessful in o…
School transport is hugely important for every schoolgoing child at primary and post-primary level. When the school transport scheme was introduced, it was for families who may have been without transport. Now, it is because of working families. We need to make sure they avail of it and that there are enough buses for it.
There is an ambitious programme as part of School Transport 2030 to make sure we get more and m…
I take the point on starting the process earlier. I always say that from 15 August it becomes school bus ticket time. A large number of tickets are processed every day by the Department and Bus Éireann. A great deal of work is being done on this. A lot of work has been done on the entire school transport system and expanding it. I take the point that a large number of students would love to benefit from it. Our aim i…
I thank the Deputy very much for the question. The NCSE is the statutory agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. The National Council for Special Education has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming year, bringing the total number of special classes in our schools to 3,742. Combined with 300 new special school places, this brings to 2,700 the number of new school places fo…
The NCSE is working intensively with the parents and schools concerned. The school the Deputy has referred to is one such school. The NCSE engaged with the school to secure agreement to open classes. The NCSE visited the school in September 2024 and, with the support of the school patron body, it worked to sanction two classes.
We can now confirm that the issues that were the subject of the Deputy's representation a…
It is very important to be fair to the NCSE, the Department and ourselves. A deadline of February was put in place. Parents needed to make contact by that deadline. We worked to those figures. A number of children have come forward post the February deadline in recent weeks. We are actively engaging with those families and with schools in their communities to ensure children are accommodated in appropriate places. A …
The NCSE is the statutory agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. The NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year, of which 398 are autism special classes while three are autism early intervention classes. This brings to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. The NCSE has advised my Department that an updated list of these classes is available …
I assure the Deputy that the figures in relation to the number of classes being opened around the country are correct. On the individual school the Deputy mentioned, I am very happy to take the details from her after the session and I will work with her to try to get a satisfactory conclusion to it. I have no difficulty in doing that. I have to say that the Minister and I have done significant work on this over the l…
I have some personal experience of Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí that opened special classes, and they would be taught through the medium of Irish. What the Deputy has said has been brought to our attention before by people, but it is clear that it is whatever the medium is in the school, in this case the medium of Irish. Some of the schools operating special classes are hugely successful and the school ethos is i…
I thank the Deputy for his question and Deputy McAuliffe for his interest in this matter. I thank both Deputies for their continuing interest in education. It is hugely important that it is brought to the fore in the House. Education is a hugely important part of everyone's life, so it is hugely important that we strive to get it right.
The NCSE is the statutory agency with responsibility for the provision of specia…
The review of the EPSEN Act was very important research. I commend all those who helped with the review. Launched recently, it provides very good information, including on additional needs.
Teacher and SNA recruitment is kept under constant review by the Department. Many of the boards of management of schools and education and training boards are conducting interviews in these weeks to fill vacancies. Teachers also …
We have had many discussions in recent weeks. The Deputy mentioned the deputation from the Down Syndrome Ireland Galway branch who were here yesterday to discuss mild general learning classes. ASD classes are opening across the country based on the need being presented. We have to be mindful of children with other additional needs and ensuring they are accommodated within the school system. That point has been well m…