Parliamentary questions

864. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the Department measures outcomes for students receiving visiting teacher service supports for visual impairment, such as achieving functional Braille literacy or independent access to textbooks, rather than simply recording that supports have been allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20194/26]

865. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth to clarify who holds ultimate responsibility for ensuring that students with severe visual impairment can access State examinations in an appropriate and accessible format, in cases where medical reports and functional vision assessments indicate that standard print based accommodations are unsuitable; whether this responsibility …

866. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the Department has examined cases in which an assessment of need under the Disability Act found that a child's severe visual impairment did not affect learning, communication or mobility, despite professional reports indicating significant educational access needs; the way in which such discrepancies are reconciled with the edu…

867. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth to review an application from a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20220/26]

868. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the training and qualification requirements that apply to visiting teachers supporting students with visual impairment within the National Council for Special Education Visiting Teacher Service; to clarify whether visiting teachers are required to hold qualifications in Braille literacy and tactile instruction; the number of visit…

869. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the body responsible for ensuring that students with profound visual impairment can access curriculum materials and State examinations where course content contains diagrams, graphs or other non linear visual materials that cannot be accessed through standard assistive technology; the oversight that exists to ensure such accessibi…

870. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the formal advisory documentation that is normally provided by the National Council for Special Education Visiting Teacher Service when determining appropriate educational supports for a student with visual impairment; whether such advice is normally recorded in writing and made available to schools and parents; and if she will ma…

871. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the procedures which apply where a student with a disability experiences significant distress or makes a mental health disclosure linked to difficulties accessing the curriculum; the way in which the responsibility is coordinated between schools, the National Council for Special Education and Tusla - Child and Family Agency in suc…

872. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will ensure additional funding is allocated to a school project (details supplied). [20226/26]

873. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if long term substitute SNAs have been given consideration and formally recognised within the SNA redeployment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20233/26]

874. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding a school in Cork City to accommodate children with additional educational needs (details supplied). [20240/26]

875. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the additional accommodation application submitted by a school (details supplied). [20255/26]

876. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a school (details supplied) will receive correspondence from her Department regarding an application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20256/26]

877. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a child in County Kildare (details supplied) will receive a special class place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20389/26]

878. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a family in County Kildare (details supplied) will receive a special class place for their twin children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20390/26]

879. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the review of Circular 32/2017 will introduce national guidance requiring schools to provide reasonable accommodation within uniform policies for children with sensory processing difficulties or other additional needs; and the timeline for completion of that review. [20403/26]

880. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No’s 487, 489 and 490 of 3 March 2026, the number of early intervention preschool classes for autistic children in mainstream and special schools that have been redesignated to primary autism classes/other special classes for the 2026/2027 school year. [20437/26]

881. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the remedy that is open to parents, or her Department, to ensure that schools (details supplied) set out in their admission policies the school’s arrangements for students who attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school, as is required under the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018; and if she wil…

882. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of early intervention preschool classes for autistic children in Special Schools, by county, from 2014 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20439/26]

883. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of times she and her predecessor, and their respective officials have met with tech companies since January 2025, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20443/26]

884. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of home school community liaison co-ordinators (HSCL) that are employed, by county, in the years 2025 and 2026 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20451/26]

885. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of hours schools receive from home school community liaisons, by DEIS schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20452/26]

886. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the progression of a sanctioned two classroom SEN extension to facilitate autism classes in a school (details supplied). [20454/26]

887. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason urgent funding has not been provided from her Department to a school (details supplied) to replace two derelict prefab classrooms, in an already overcrowded school campus. [20455/26]

888. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the filling of the post for the Education Welfare Officer in the Finglas area; her plans to expedite this appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20474/26]