Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. Since I came into this role, we have seen that the number of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, will increase from 73 to 120. The Deputy is correct about the issues with enrolment, with parents applying to numerous schools. Schools have their own enrolment policies and the NCSE is sometimes blind to the figures a school has when places become available because some of those places have already been taken by children in the school. The Deputy is aware of the issues. I meet the NCSE every single week. I want to be in the position outlined by the Deputy in which parents of children with additional needs know where their children will be in January, February or March, rather than being in the current situation. That is the reform space I am in and the work I am doing with the NCSE. I am also working with and talking to parents and schools directly to resolve this.

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