121. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth to outline plans in relation to opening five new special schools for the 2025-26 school year; if these additional school places will be created through the redesignation of existing schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30866/25]
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
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Showing questions under the heading Special Educational Needs.
2,854 questions match, newest first.
124. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reasons a school (details supplied) in south Tipperary that had previously had a new special class sanctioned has had the class withdrawn without any engagement to overcome the issues; if she will urgently review this decision by the NCSE which has left a number of students without an appropriate class place; how this class could have been sanc…
135. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures she is taking to ensure children with Down's syndrome have access to school places and supports appropriate for their particular needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31226/25]
137. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress made on introducing a new common application system for children applying to special schools and classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31232/25]
155. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of special classes in County Mayo; the number of autistic children currently awaiting a school place in County Mayo, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18852/25]
158. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education and Youth to outline the timelines and details for the roll-out of school-based therapies for special schools, schools with units and general mainstream schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31243/25]
163. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update on the roll-out of additional supports for students with additional needs ahead of the 2025 academic year; for a further update on the provision of special education teachers and SNAs across primary and post-primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30702/25]
164. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of additional special classes that will be opened in County Monaghan in 2025. [31316/25]
166. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update on schools’ SNA allocations for the 2025-26 school year; to outline the process involved in making allocations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30984/25]
170. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if, in light of the critical shortage of speech and language therapists, SLTs, across Ireland, her Department will engage with CORU and other relevant bodies to fast-track the recognition of qualified professionals from abroad; and if she will address the current two-year delay for foreign-trained SLTs to receive approval to work in Ireland, which …
171. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to confirm the number of additional special school places delivered for Cork for the 2025-26 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31234/25]
174. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the under-provision of adequate specialist places for children with Down's syndrome in County Kildare and throughout the State more broadly; if she will consider collecting data on Down's syndrome children in the education system with a view to create targeted placements; and if she will consider reviewing the diagnostic criter…
175. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children with special educational needs without a place in a school, by county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to provide places for these children who do not have a school place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31300/25]
177. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will reconsider the issuing of Circular 0039/2025 regarding the forward planning for special education provision since many teachers who work in special schools fear that the circular appears to assume that students with mild general learning disabilities can simply be accommodated within mainstream settings, provided minimal additional suppor…
179. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the current one-size-fits-all system whereby a minimum of six pupils are needed to establish a special education class and acknowledge that this disproportionately affects rural communities; and if they will explore implementing more flexible options. [30701/25]
320. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on special education classes in second level schools that are provided for children with Down’s Syndrome; if she will give a commitment that her Department will plan to expand this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31283/25]
323. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to recruit a sufficient number of SNAs, therapists, SLTs and OTs to match the demand of SEN students this September. [30859/25]
326. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth to respond to concerns that a special school in Blackrock (details supplied) will be reducing services or integrating with any other schools. [31345/25]
330. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she would consider a special class for autistic learners in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31390/25]
335. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she has directed a school (details supplied) that from the 2025/2026 academic year it will no longer be accommodating pupils with a mild general learning disability; the measures she will take to ensure these pupils receive appropriate alternative school places and supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31428/25]
336. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the case of a child (details supplied) who does not have a special education place as needed will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31439/25]
343. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has effectively capped SNAs staffing levels for secondary schools; and if any impact assessment has been taken regarding this measure. [31552/25]
344. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department requires schools to assign resources for academic year 2025/26 from their current complement of SNAs irrespective of increased need for SNA resources. [31553/25]
345. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth the instruction her Department is giving schools that do not have enough SNA resources to cater to the needs of their pupils. [31554/25]
346. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of the situation in a school (details supplied) where a pupil that will enter the school in September requires 2 SNAs but sanction has only been given for 1.5, with the recommendation that .5 be reallocated from another child; if this is the policy of her Department; if she considers this an outworking of the SNA cap; and if sh…