Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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66. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children with special needs, to date, who have no school place for September 2024, by catchment area; her plans to ensure these children get places near to where they live; and the number of places vacant to take these children, by catchment area. [30278/24]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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This is a very specific question to specific issues in my own area in Dublin 12. I would welcome the Minister of State’s response.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department works closely with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. In the budget, we secured funding for up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and an additional 300 special school places for the 2024-25 school year. This will deliver 2,700 new places for children.

Nationwide over 386 new special classes, providing 2,300 special education places in mainstream schools, have been sanctioned by the NCSE for the coming 2024-25 school year.

I am determined to ensure that all children who require a placement can access this as quickly as possible. I meet with the NCSE every week to discuss progress and to ensure that every child has a school place for the coming term.

There are now over 3,000 special classes in our education system providing places for over 20,000 students. We have opened four new special schools for the 2024-25 school year and increased capacity in a number of existing special schools to ensure that more children than ever can access an education appropriate to their needs.

My Department and the NCSE are actively engaging with school patrons and a small number of schools to finalise the arrangements necessary for the remainder of special classes to open for the coming school year in the areas where they are needed. I expect these remaining new special classes will be finalised shortly and that this additional provision, coupled with vacancies in existing special classes, will provide the capacity needed for the coming school year.

The NCSE continues to be notified where schools are completing the enrolment process to special classes as children move from primary to post-primary or leave our school system. These places continue to be filled on an ongoing basis.

The NCSE is working with schools which may be available to open classes for September 2024 but may not be required at this time. They will remain options for additional provision if required. I am satisfied that we have created the additional capacity required to meet the needs of children known to the NCSE for September 2024.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I have looked back at the announcements made last December when the previous Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, stated that the Department would increase services into the schools. The Minister of State said the NCSE announced a new campaign on 16 October 2023 to recruit additional special education needs organisers and this recruitment is well under way. Can she tell me how many additional SENOs have been recruited since October 2023? She said that planning and work with schools to set up to 400 additional special classes for the 2024-25 school year is well under way. Can she confirm that those 400 additional classes will be on their way before this September?

Regarding my own area and the Dublin 12 Campaign 4 Autism Inclusion, they still do not have enough autism classes. There are schools with none, schools awaiting building work, and children still leaving their own community to go to school. I will come back in again.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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First, we are increasing the number of SENOs from 73 to 120 and they will be in place by September this year. I will come back to the Deputy with the exact figure but it is up in the eighties at this point. The 120 will be in place for the coming school year beginning in September 2024. What is really important about the role of the SENOs and the feedback we got from the NCSE was that they were overstretched. They had a very wide geographical area to cover. Their area will now be county-based. We are going to reduce their administrative burden so that they can be on the ground, in schools, meeting parents and children and being more visible. I will come back to the Deputy with the figures but she can be assured the SENOs will be in place for this coming school year.

Regarding Dublin 15 and Dublin 12, the NCSE has increased capacity in those areas. The schools have their own enrolment process as well. It is being worked through on a daily and weekly basis between the NCSE and the schools.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Thank you, Minister.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I can come back in with further details.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I know we are quite tight for time. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back on a few of these things in a few minutes or later on.

There have been no NCSE applications in a number of secondary schools in the Dublin 12 area. Will the Minister of State use the section 37A process on those schools? I think she knows the names of the schools. I gave them to her as part of the question. Drimnagh, Crumlin and Walkinstown are ever-growing areas with new families coming in. We hope to see thousands of families coming into the area over the next two years with the big city-edge development. The Ballymount industrial estate, Bluebell and Inchicore CIÉ works are all earmarked for development, yet we do not have sufficient places in the area for our children's needs now. I specifically asked the Minister of State a question about Alex. We still do have not a school placement for him even though the Minister of State said the NCSE was working closely with the family. We know of other children in the area who do not have school placements yet. Not having that confirmation at this stage of the game causes a lot of anguish to the parents.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I concur on the anxiety and that parents need the reassurance of knowing their child has a place for the upcoming school year. We really do not want to be in this position again. Parents need to know early in the year where their child is going to be that coming September and that is why the resourcing of the NCSE is so important. Today, I have written to a number of schools in the Dublin 15 area to thank them for their work throughout the year but also to highlight the issues the Deputy has raised regarding the anxiety of parents not knowing where their child is going to be in the coming school year. I have also asked them to continue to work with the NCSE and the Department and to continue to progress their enrolment process for special classes as quickly as possible so as to reassure parents. Again, the NCSE is dealing directly with schools, schools patrons and boards of management. Where legislation is needed and needs to be used, it will be applied. I assure the Deputy of that. Everything that can be done to support parents in ensuring their child gets a place in September is happening at the moment.