Parliamentary questions

454. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of new primary school teachers funded by her Department over the last 15 years, by year, in tabular form. [21393/26]

455. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Education and Youth when construction will begin on a new school building (details supplied); the timeline for completion of the works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21396/26]

456. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason for shutting down a particular school during term time to facilitate a move to a building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21398/26]

457. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she can confirm that for mainstream placements under section67(2)(f), the NCSE must consider the school’s ability ‘including that ability when resources are made available’, and that oversubscription or year-group caps do not extinguish this obligation; and if her Department has considered sanctioning the additional resource…

458. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on funding for the development of a new school campus (details supplied); the reason the special education classrooms will not be delivered; if this decision can be reconsidered; the contact she has had with the schools on this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21400/26]

459. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will urgently sanction a modular classroom to accommodate a mainstream class at a school in County Clare (details supplied) for the start of the 2026/2027 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21408/26]

460. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 525, 526 and 527 of 14 October 2025, whether her Department has advised schools and ETBs that it is a matter for themselves to decide the type of phone storage solution which they use, and which is most appropriate for their school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21419/…

461. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Education and Youth the person or body responsible for a school site (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21431/26]

462. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Education and Youth if an emergency funding application made by a school (details supplied) can be expedited and approved given the dangerous and unsanitary conditions on the school site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21432/26]

463. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children currently without an appropriate primary and secondary school placement in the constituency of Fingal, for the upcoming school year; the number of those children who have been diagnosed with mixed disability needs; the steps her Department is taking to ensure that every child requiring a special school …

464. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on whether it is acceptable that children with significant additional needs, including autism and moderate intellectual disabilities, are being asked to travel to schools located in different counties, in some cases requiring journeys of over an hour each way by bus; the maximum travel distances considered appropria…

465. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department is aware of cases where parents have applied to more than twenty special schools and mainstream schools with special classes yet have received only refusal letters due to lack of capacity; whether an emergency mechanism exists to ensure a school place is secured for such children before the start of the…

466. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps she will take to ensure better coordination between the National Council for Special Education, her Department, and local schools where a child with complex needs is at risk of having no school placement as they move from primary to secondary school; the supports available to families in such situations before the s…

467. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of additional special school places and ASD class places planned for Fingal between now and September; whether emergency measures will be considered where children remain without placements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21437/26]

468. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she accepts that children with complex needs have a right to receive an appropriate education within their own community; the measures being taken to expand local provision Fingal, particularly given the planned opening of a new special school in 2027 will come too late for entry into school in September 2026; and if she w…

469. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on whether it is acceptable that where a child with additional needs cannot access an appropriate special school or ASD class placement, a parent may be forced to give up employment in order to care for and educate the child at home; the supports available in such circumstances, particularly where the parent may the…

470. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if schools who require a student to have a digital device can prohibit students who cannot afford a digital device from accessing their school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21448/26]

471. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will confirm a school building development in Kildare south (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21465/26]

472. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a person (details supplied) does not have the supports they require in their school, resulting in missed school days through no fault of their own; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21497/26]

473. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a school (details supplied) has been approved for a ‘special class for autistic learners’ in September 2026; and to provide assurance to the school that the new class will go ahead as scheduled. [21557/26]

474. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps taken to implement the rulings under cases (details supplied); to outline any legislative steps which still need to be undertaken; and to provide a timeline for the full implementation of the changes necessary under each ruling [21559/26]

475. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools (primary and post-primary) in Mayo that currently have autism classes; the number of schools (primary and post-primary) in Mayo that applied to her Department for funding in the past year to open an autism classroom; the number of these applications that were successful; the number of additional autism c…

476. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the planning in place in Mayo to ensure children in an autism class at primary school have a smooth transition into an appropriate autism class at post-primary level;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21561/26]

477. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth if there is a formal appeals process for late applications for the Government scheme allowing newly qualified teachers to receive a refund of up to €2,000 towards the cost of their teacher training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21575/26]

478. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to address the lack of feeder special classes in the secondary schools (details supplied). [21578/26]