Parliamentary questions

244. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) will lose an SNA from September 2026; the steps being taken to ensure this does not happen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73159/25]

245. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth for details of any research carried out into the merits of the proposed removal of the requirement for a child to have an assessment of need carried out prior to being allocated a SEN school placement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73167/25]

246. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is concerned that the proposal to remove the requirement for a child to have an assessment of need carried out prior to being allocated a SEN school placement will put further pressure on waiting lists for SEN places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73169/25]

247. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth to outline the requirements for a child to qualify for a SEN school placement in lieu of an assessment of need, as part of her proposals to amend the current system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73171/25]

248. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the comments of a union (details supplied) in relation to the proposed removal of the requirement for a child to have an assessment of need carried out prior to being allocated a SEN school placement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73173/25]

249. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will engage with teacher unions as part of the proposed removal of the requirement for a child to have an assessment of need carried out prior to being allocated a SEN school placement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73175/25]

250. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is concerned that the proposed removal of the requirement for a child to have an assessment of need carried out prior to being allocated a SEN school placement will increase waiting lists in schools that are already at overcapacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73177/25]

251. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department is taking to address the shortage of autism class places at national school level in the Dublin Rathdown constituency and nationally in advance of the academic year 2026-27; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73197/25]

413. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the eligibility of pupils with autism to school transport, in particular, in a situation where a pupil’s school placement is unsuitable, and the pupil is required to change schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71313/25]

414. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Youth to detail each of the SEBD special schools across Ireland, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71314/25]

415. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a grant is available for a school (details supplied) to assist with wheelchair transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71322/25]

416. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to review or strengthen its guidance on the use of children’s images on school websites and social media, in view of the evolving digital risk this may pose; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71329/25]

417. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Education and Youth when her Department last updated its guidance for schools on publishing photographs of pupils online; the changes have been made to previous versions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71330/25]

418. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Education and Youth the analysis, review and risk assessments carried out on the í Cineálta primary and secondary-schools programme, to ensure compliance with the principles and protections in the Children First Act 2015 and the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. [71340/25]

419. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the number of home school liaison officers and home completion officers that are based in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, by location, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71342/25]

420. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding options available for pre-Junior Certificate students who are looking for non-academic education or training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71343/25]

421. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the number of people currently participating in the Alternative Learning Programme in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71344/25]

422. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the number of people that have participated in the Alternative Learning Programme since its inception in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71345/25]

423. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the number of spaces available in the Alternative Learning Programme per annum in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71346/25]

424. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of a community contribution refund due to a school (details supplied); the reason for the extremely lengthy delay in providing a lease in order to resolve the matter; the timeline for when a lease will be provided; the timeline for the refund to be issued following the provision of and signing of the lease; and if she w…

425. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of personnel employed across all State agencies who support special education in post primary schools (details supplied); the total annual expenditure associated with these roles, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71387/25]

426. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department collects centralised comparative data on levels of student need across post primary schools; if so, if she will provide these data in tabular form; and if not, the rationale for requiring schools to determine need in the absence of national benchmarks given delays for professional assessments; and if she will m…

427. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the estimated number of administrative hours that schools spend each year on reasonable accommodations in the certificate examinations applications and assistive technology applications; if she will provide these estimates in tabular form; if she will consider introducing a high trust model similar to the Irish Exemption system …

428. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teachers currently working in special education teaching roles hold a recognised qualification in special education; if she will provide this information in tabular form; if the Department plans to expand conversion or upskilling routes; the training is provided to external professionals who work with schools; and …

429. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if consideration has been given to redeploying elements of the Inspectorate to provide in school training and collaborative planning support rather than focusing primarily on compliance based inspection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71426/25]