Questions

392. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will intervene to fast-track home tuition funding approvals currently delayed in the Department's section in Athlone, which are leaving thirteen children unable to return to their second year at an early intervention pre-school (details supplied) despite local SENO approval; if she will reform the system to allow automatic two-year approvals f…

518. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department and the National Council for Special Education will grant a request from a school (details supplied) to open an additional special class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64644/26]

324. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps being taken to ensure that the change of date for the NCSE Parents Notify Portal deadline to 1 September 2026 is directly and adequately communicated to crucial frontline stakeholders; if she will address concerns that the mid-summer announcement occurred while schools, parent networks, and child development network teams (CDNTs) are on rec…

80. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether a 'comprehensive assessment of behavioural function' is a mandated requirement in special schools and ASD units when addressing high-risk behaviours of concern; the specific personnel or clinical professionals tasked with carrying out these assessments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35452/26]

81. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the specific professional qualifications and clinical experience required for National Council for Special Education personnel and school staff who hold responsibility for managing and understanding 'behaviours of concern'; if these requirements are equivalent to the behaviour specialist standards mandated in the adult intellectual disability sector (…

457. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason the positive behaviour support (PBS) approach despite being the framework embedded in existing Irish legislation is not currently mandated for implementation within the education sector; if she is aware of reports from clinical professionals that the approach is not being applied in a meaningful or consistent way across schools; and if her…

458. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason specific and significant qualifications, equivalent to those required in adult services and other mandated sectors, are not mandatory for individuals providing guidance, training, and support regarding behaviours of concern within the education sector; the reason a level 9 Master's Degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and substantial…

530. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the rationale behind the new inclusive special class model, which allows for the enrolment of up to 12 students in post-primary settings, effectively doubling the traditional capacity, while maintaining a staffing allocation of just 1.5 teachers and 2 SNAs; if she will address concerns regarding sensory overload, reduced individual attention and the …

538. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a teacher (details supplied) would, in light of Circular 0038/2026, and their qualifications and experience, be eligible to teach in an autism class or special class within a post-primary school setting; if so, whether this teacher would be remunerated on a post-primary salary scale; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29975/26]

428. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth to address matters concerning notifications received by a number of primary schools that they were set to lose some of their SNA allocation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16412/26]

471. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she clarify the position of her Department on the provision of positive behaviour support within special education schools, autism classes and mainstream settings where autistic or behaviourally vulnerable students are enrolled (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16836/26]

136. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will fast-track an application made by a primary school in County Clare (details supplied) to develop an autism class on site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15644/26]

140. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will urgently give approval for a school in County Clare (details supplied) to open an autism class for September 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13164/26]

1207. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will establish procedures within her Department so that special needs assistants, going forward, will only require to be Garda vetted on one occasion and that this vetting would be acceptable in all schools for a period of fixed duration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1437/26]

264. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review a request made by a school (details supplied) to have an additional SNA approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50958/25]

1164. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of WTE SNA posts in each county in the 2024 to 2025 school year; the provisional allocation for same in 2025 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42890/25]

1165. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of active special classes by county in the 2024 to 2025 school year; the provisional allocation for same in 2025 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42891/25]

67. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will overturn the planned freeze on SNA allocations for schools due to the increasing need for such staff and the vital role they play in both the classroom and the school environment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38225/25]

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…

538. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth when she expects SNA staffing allocations for the 2025-2026 primary school year to be announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29410/25]

539. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will assign a new roll number regime to special schools in order to differentiate them from primary and secondary schools, since the current model classifies them as primary schools, even though many of them offer a secondary school curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29411/25]

695. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education if she will intervene in the case of an additional special classroom for a primary school in County Clare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11903/25]

280. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the application before her Department for new autism classes at a school in County Clare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10488/25]

80. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education if she will consider a new status for special education schools to recognise the fact that whilst they are currently classed as primary schools, they cater for an age range that includes adolescents and teenagers and many offer Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8151/25]