828. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to statements from the National Council for Special Education that special class places are available in Cork, to clarify the number of vacant and immediately available special class places currently in Cork; the names of the schools where these places exist; the type of special classes involved (for example autism classes or other specialist …
Topics / Special Educational Needs
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSpecial Educational Needs
2,921 questions from 146 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
2,921
questions
2,881 written, 40 oral
146
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
5
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 31 |
| February 2025 | 124 |
| March 2025 | 114 |
| April 2025 | 160 |
| May 2025 | 134 |
| June 2025 | 183 |
| July 2025 | 215 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 113 |
| October 2025 | 76 |
| November 2025 | 191 |
| December 2025 | 122 |
| January 2026 | 163 |
| February 2026 | 283 |
| March 2026 | 270 |
| April 2026 | 167 |
| May 2026 | 181 |
| June 2026 | 171 |
| July 2026 | 101 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 44 |
| October 2026 | 78 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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139
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129
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115
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99
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92
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86
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80
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68
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
829. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children in Cork that are currently awaiting placement in special classes for the upcoming school year; the way in which this number compares with the number of vacant places identified by the National Council for Special Education; and the steps being taken to ensure that children without placements are offered appropriate places withou…
842. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Youth when her Department will sanction an application from a school (details supplied) for an autism class in order to ensure that six students who are transitioning from the junior to the senior school have an appropriate school place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19914/26]
843. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding how a child is assessed in relation to qualifying for SNA support in school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19929/26]
844. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the most recent time the assessment in relation to how a child qualifies for SNA support in school was reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19930/26]
845. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any engagement she has had with the NCSE in relation to the qualifying criteria for getting an SNA in school; if this assessment has been reviewed in recent years by the NCSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19931/26]
846. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to calls to expand the qualifying criteria for access to SNA support for children that require additional help in a school (details supplied); the actions she will take to address the concerns outlined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19932/26]
848. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the plans her Department has to deliver ASD classes in Malahide for the 2026/2027 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19975/26]
849. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth the definition of an "appropriate place" used by her Department; to consider ensuring that it include an equal opportunity for the child to attend their local school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19976/26]
850. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth her current plans to increase the amount of school places for special classes in mainstream schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19977/26]
855. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the ongoing review of the special needs assistant contract will be completed; if this review will include consideration of updated qualification and skills requirements for the role; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20052/26]
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]
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]
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]
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]
889. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 512 of 12 November 2025, to provide a further update on the matter, including an updated timeline; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20493/26]
901. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to confirm that consideration will be given to awarding a school (details supplied) three additional SNAs given the fact that the pupils of the school have a number of complex needs that require additional support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20686/26]
908. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Education and Youth to respond to matters raised in correspondence regarding the planned opening of special classes in a school (details supplied); the associated construction works; the reasons for the delays; the steps being taken by her Department to ensure the project is completed within the timeline that was previously outlined to the school; the definitive timeline…
909. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Youth to clarify her Department's current policy regarding the provision of modular accommodation for special classes; the reason schools that have exhausted existing internal capacity, but possess adequate external grounds, are being refused modular builds to open necessary ASD classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20755/26]
910. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary and post-primary schools in County Wexford that have expressed a willingness to open a special class but have been unable to do so due to the Department's refusal or delay in sanctioning modular accommodation in the past 24 months; the steps being taken to urgently address this specific bottleneck; and if she will make a statem…
911. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way her Department justifies children and teenagers with additional needs being forced to travel outside their local communities for education when local schools are willing to accommodate them but are denied modular building approval; the way in which this aligns with the Government's commitments to inclusive education; and if she will make a s…
914. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the percentile of children that receive a school place within the four reading schools in the State established to assist children with dyslexia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20831/26]
915. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if there are any plans to establish a new reading school for children with dyslexia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20832/26]