Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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For the information of Senators, the combined speeches of the proposer and seconder shall not exceed 16 minutes. All other Senators will have six minutes. I call Senator Pauline Tully to move the motion.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I am sharing time with Senators McCormack and Ryan.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann: recognises:

- the fundamental right of every child to access education;

- the growing current and projected demand for special education placements;

- the current shortage of special classes and appropriate school places, leaving children, particularly those with additional needs, without access to suitable education;

- the trauma and absolute heartbreak endured by parents and families due to the lack of suitable school places;

- the failure of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments to adequately plan for and invest in the expansion of special education;

- the lack of coordination between the Department of Education, the National Council for Special Education and schools, resulting in a fragmented and inefficient system;

- the disproportionate impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who face even greater barriers to accessing appropriate education;

- that the current state of special education is unacceptable and fails to uphold the rights of children with additional needs;

calls on the Government to:

- immediately expand the number of special school places, special classes and special education teaching hours across the State;

- ensure every child currently without a suitable school place, and all those due to start primary or secondary school in September 2025, have access to a suitable school place within a reasonable distance from their home;

- enact the Education (Inclusion of Persons) Bill 2023 and the Education (Amendment) Bill 2024 to identify demand, gaps in provision and to develop a long-term strategy for special education;

- ensure meaningful consultation and greater collaboration between education authorities and school leaders in special education planning and delivery, and to address the shortage in special school and special class placements;

- streamline the process for opening new special classes and provide additional funding and resources for schools opening new special classes;

- invest in recruitment and continuous professional development for teachers and special needs assistants to ensure they are supported to meet the diverse needs of students in special classes; this must include addressing the root causes of the recruitment and retention crisis in the education and disability sectors;

- expand the Educational Therapy Support Service to help build the capacity of school communities to meet students’ needs.”

I welcome the Minister of State. I know him from our past dealings and his work on the disability committee and I know he has a good understanding of the issues facing parents and children with additional educational needs. There is much more to be done in the sphere of education to address these needs. In recent weeks and months, we have seen several demonstrations and sleep-outs undertaken by parents in Dublin and Cork and meetings in different parts of the country to highlight that there is a lack of appropriate school placements for children with additional educational needs in many counties.

I attended several meetings in primary schools in County Cavan in recent weeks. Several issues were highlighted. I will go through them in a moment. There are deep concerns about the lack of availability of school places, training for teachers and therapeutic supports. I am disappointed that the Government submitted an amendment to the motion. I feel the motion is not that dissimilar to the amendment. However, the amendment represents a watering down of our requests and makes more vague requests of the Government to implement changes.It is just an excuse to pat yourselves on the back for the work done. While some good initiatives have been brought forward, there is still not enough to meet the needs of so many children with additional education needs in this country.

One of the issues that was highlighted to me was the lack of school places. We had parents who had children in sixth class who were in an autistic unit in a primary school who still had not been given a school placement in a secondary school. They had applied to a number of schools yet they still did not know whether there would be a suitable place for them in the community that would not only address their child's needs but mean they would not have to travel an hour to find a school placement.

One school said there was only one student leaving this year but next year it would have four. All this means there should be a lot more planning done to ensure there are places for the children who are going through primary school and have additional needs, who may be autistic, and who will need a suitable placement in second level. Children spend eight years in primary school, which should be ample time to ensure that there is an appropriate school placement for each child at the end of those years without parents having to apply to several schools. We have heard of parents having to apply to up to 30 schools. It is soul destroying for them to receive one refusal after another. Refusals happened so often that the NCSE had to get involved in some cases and go through the application processes for the parents. It is a very tough process.

One of the teachers at the school talked about the lack of training for teachers in special educational needs. When teachers are being trained in college, they should all be trained in how to teach how to make sure that they include students with additional needs. That is not done. There should be ongoing professional development for qualified teachers and for SNAs. There should be specialised courses in the area of special education. This is done in other countries. Such provision should be looked at and could be replicated here.

The teacher told me that she wanted to do her utmost to help the six students in her class. She used her own time and funds to train and upskill so that she would be best placed to help students. The parents had no end of praise for her. I have come across other teachers in the same situation where, oftentimes just newly qualified, they are asked to take the special class for two years, thus guaranteeing a permanent appointment in the school in a mainstream class. That is not the way to approach this matter. Children with additional needs need consistency. They need a teacher who understands their needs but they also need to know that their teacher will be there on an ongoing basis and will not be gone after a year or two years, thus necessitating them having to get used to somebody else all over again. Not all schools but some schools could adopt a much better approach to their special classes and ensuring that staff have the required training to provide the proper education for the children in their classes.

All of the schools that I have dealt with have brought up the possibility of therapeutic supports in the school. We know there is little or nothing in the community at the moment and that children are really suffering as a result. People talked about years ago when the early development team was still in situand how a therapist would come into the school and help to inform the school of the different things that they should be doing. They said that the measure was far from perfect but it was a help. That provision is not happening now at all at any level. The children do not get any sort of support in the community. The teachers said that they are not speech and language therapists, occupational therapists or physiotherapists and should not be expected to know how to deal with someone like this. They asked whether therapists could be employed by a cluster of schools, thus allowing therapists to visit those schools on different days and engage with the children in the classes that required their help. Some of these students are pre-verbal and some are non-verbal so they need help. These therapists could also teach staff how to deal with different situations.

Yesterday, I talked to a representative of the NCSE and was told that the number of school placements would continue to break down. We see children on reduced timetables or being expelled. The nub of the problem is that children are not getting the support they require so they cannot communicate, which leads to frustration and to them often lashing out, so it is most important that proper therapeutic supports are rolled out in schools.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I second the motion and call for a clear commitment. I thank the Minister of State for attending.

I rise not just as a Senator but as a mother and someone who listens carefully to families across this country, especially in my county of Laois, who are in crisis. There is a severe lack of special school and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, school placements in this State. This is not just a failure of planning. It is a failure for children, families and basic rights.

I want to acknowledge a family sitting in the Public Gallery. Sarah and Darren Hennessy are here because they have nowhere else to turn. Their little boy, Freddie, is five years old. Freddie has autism and global developmental delay. For the past two years, he has thrived in an ASD preschool setting. He is ready for school. He wants to learn but there is nowhere for him to go. Sarah and Darren have applied to between 15 and 20 schools. They have received between 15 and 20 refusal letters, which they brought here to show the Minister of State. They would love to speak to the Minister of State after this debate, if possible, because they still have hope that someone will listen.

It was recently announced with great fanfare that five schools in County Laois had been sanctioned new ASD classes, including Killeshin primary school, where Darren attended as a child. The Hennessy family were overjoyed. It felt like their nightmare was finally ending but when I picked up the phone and spoke to the principal of that school I was told the truth. While the principal is willing to do everything in her power to make it happen, the reality is grim. She was only notified days beforehand. She has already been inundated with calls from families but there is no clear plan. They are having planning meetings yet they do not have funding secured and do not have an architect. They have been told they will get a modular build but they do not know where the modular build will come from. Plus, every principal from the five schools told me the same thing, that it is highly unlikely these places will actually be open by September. So while this provision may look good on paper we, in fact, have another case of misleading families, another case of false hope and another round of devastation for people who have already been let down far too many times.

This brings me to discussing St. Francis School in Portlaoise, which is a designated special school. When the school re-opened in 2021 after a full rebuild, it was already overcrowded on day one. The principal was forced to accommodate 19 classes in a 12-classroom building, which shows poor planning. In 2021, the school was promised a modular build to ease the pressure but the school is still waiting. If a special school like St. Francis, which is clearly bursting at the seams, cannot get a promised modular unit in four years then how are we expected to believe that five other schools in County Laois will have new ASD classes, with full modular builds, in a matter of months?

Let me mention another real story. Rebecca is a mother whose son, Alex, is on the waiting list for St. Francis School. That waiting list is 45 children long. She recently spoke to her SENO, Mairead Penny, who was told to wait and be prepared to home school, or just send Alex to a mainstream school. I assume that the Minister of State will know that if a child qualifies for a special school then that means mainstream education is not suitable. So, attending mainstream is not a real option and would be an act of desperation, which leads me directly to the Government’s proposed amendment to the motion. The idea that there are plans in place and investment and inclusion on the way leads me to ask three questions. Where is the road map? Where is the proper timeline? Finally, where is the accountability?

Yesterday, Sarah told me that Freddie had been failed by this system since he was two years old. Freddie has never received early intervention. He has been on a waiting list since he was a toddler. His parents have had to pay privately for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Now they have been told they might have to educate Alex at home because there is no school place for him. These parents are being pushed to the brink. They are being forced to act as therapists, carers, case workers and now, possibly, teachers.

We must face one more uncomfortable truth. Modular builds are not suitable school places. Yes, they can be a stopgap but modular builds are becoming the default solution for children with additional needs. There are prefabs in car parks and boxes in schoolyards. It is not right. It is not inclusive. It is another form of discrimination and segregation. Every child has the right to a suitable school place, not a shed out the back while their peers learn inside a proper classroom.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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I am speaking today not only as a representative but as a witness to the asylum struggle that so many parents endure across this country. These struggles are invisible to the system but are devastatingly real for the people who must live them every day. I will speak about Andrea and her daughter, Joanna, a family in my constituency whose story, sadly, is not unique but remains deeply urgent and troubling. Andrea is a midwife and nurse who served this country tirelessly, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was during that time that she gave birth to Joanna. From an early age, Joanna's developmental differences were recognised and flagged only through a research study focused on children born during Covid. As autism was identified early, one would imagine that the door to care and guidance would open, but that door never opened for her. Andrea's journey through the public system has been harrowing. At no point did she feel supported. Not once did a care pathway emerge. It was not professionals, institutions or hospitals, but friends and colleagues with lived experience who stepped in to offer the scraps of advice the State failed to provide.

Andrea was told to place Joanna in mainstream school to see how she would get on. Joanna is not an experiment, however, she is a child with specific needs, one whose teacher quickly recognised that mainstream was not appropriate for her. Despite that, Andrea still could not access primary speech therapy for her child. She was blocked at every turn. At a couple of appointments and consultations, she was told by clinicians who had never seen her daughter that she was not disabled enough to qualify for services. A child with a recognised diagnosis and evidence-based needs was denied access, not because of the assessment but due to the bureaucracy, box-ticking and gatekeeping.

Andrea has been forced to fight tooth and nail for her child. She has had to advocate constantly and relentlessly, even to the point where she had to speak down about her own daughter. Let me be clear; no parent should have to diminish their child's dignity to access care. Mainstream schools with overcrowded classrooms and under-resourced teachers are not equipped to support children like Joanna. Teachers are doing their best but they are not miracle workers. They are not trained to manage complex needs without proper structures in place. Andrea was told that a new special school was on the way - hope at last - but that it would not be ready in time. Instead, Joanna was offered a place in a community hall with no fencing, no proper infrastructure and no proper safety measures in place. How can we stand over this? How can we call ourselves a compassionate, developed country, when parents such as Andrea are left at the mercy of an unfeeling, unco-ordinated system? Andrea and her husband have reshaped their entire lives to care for Joanna. She now works nights and her husband works days to ensure that someone is there to take care of her. Still, after all these sacrifices, Andrea does not know whether Joanna will get a place in school.

The passion and love Andrea has for her daughter is palpable. It radiates when she speaks. She does not just love her child - she adores her. She told me that Joanna has made her a better mother, a better friend and person and an even more empathetic nurse. That is the kind of parent Andrea is and the kind of mother our society should be lifting up and not breaking down. As she spoke to me exhausted and in tears, she said something that would stay with you for a long time. She said that she could buy speech therapy and private assessments, but she cannot buy her child a school place. In Ireland today, access to basic education, which is a fundamental right, is not something that money, love or sacrifice can guarantee.

This Government must be held accountable for the lack of forward planning. We cannot keep pretending this is acceptable. We need a streamlined humane system, one that supports families in the diagnosis and education systems and beyond. There needs to be an end to this endless waiting and gatekeeping that Andrea and Joanna have had to endure. Joanna does not want to just survive in school; she wants to thrive. She deserves to. Andrea deserves to be her mother, not just her case worker, therapist, advocate and fighter. I say to Andrea and every parent fighting this uphill battle: "I see you. We see you." It is now time that the system finally sees them too.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That Seanad Éireann:" and substitute the following: "notes that:

- a child’s right to education is enshrined in the Constitution and, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, must be accessible on an equal basis with others in the community in which they live; and

- the Government is committed to ensuring that each child with a special educational need has an appropriate school place, in line with their constitutional right and Programme for Government commitments;

further notes:

- the continued significant State investment of €2.9 billion in supporting the provision of special education, a 48 per cent increase since 2020;

- the increase in the allocation of special education teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to support children with special educational needs in our schools;

- the strategic initiatives introduced to provide for the continued accelerated delivery of special class places in mainstream schools and special school places with the number of special classes having doubled over the last 5 years and 16 new special schools being established;

- the work being progressed to provide up to another 400 new special classes and 300 additional special school places for the coming school year to ensure that every child known to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has an appropriate school place;

- the fact that the NCSE has confirmed that 336 of these new special classes are now sanctioned for the coming school year and that significant progress is being made in relation to the establishment of 5 new special schools and the expansion of provision in other special schools;

- the significant investment in the expansion of staffing at the NCSE to assist families of children with special educational needs in all aspects of their educational journey, including accessing a placement appropriate to their needs;

- the ongoing engagement between the NCSE, the Department of Education, school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools in relation to the forward planning of special education provision, which has yielded additional classes in every county at primary and post-primary levels in recent years;

- the enactment of priority legislation in 2022 which provides a power to compel schools to make additional provision for children with special educational needs and for the NCSE to direct schools to admit children with special educational needs;

- the establishment of the D15 Taskforce to support forward planning for special education provision in the area and to support the trial of a common application system for special classes;

- the recent publication of a circular letter by the Department setting out new guidelines for schools in relation to supporting the transition of students with special education needs, the review of special education placements and the removal of the need for parents to seek updated professional reports where a student is transitioning from a primary special class to a post-primary special class of the same designation;

- the introduction of a new pilot project in conjunction with the HSE, to reinstate therapy services onsite in special schools and the commitment in the Programme for Government to provide for an education-led therapy service for special schools;

- the funding provided for the training and upskilling of teachers and SNAs who support children with special education needs;

- the request by the Minister to the Teaching Council to include a mandatory assessed placement period in a special class or a special school setting in all initial teaching education programmes;

- the extensive review by the Department of Education of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 is nearing completion;

- the establishment of a new SNA Workforce Development Unit by the Department of Education; and

- the renewed focus of the Government on the area of disability services with a particular focus on improving the delivery of services for children with disabilities;

calls on the Government to:

- take any necessary steps to ensure that every child with special education needs who needs an appropriate school place has access to one in a timely manner;

- continue to expand the number of special school places, special classes and special education teaching hours as required across the State;

- improve communication and outreach to parents of children with special educational needs to streamline the process by which parents apply for specialist school places, reducing the burden on them and improving the timelines, including the introduction of a common application procedure;

- continue to increase investment into the area of special education to ensure that every child can reach their full potential;

- support additional schools and students to benefit from the Summer Programme;

- ensure that the NCSE will continue to engage intensively with parents and all educational partners to continue to increase capacity."

The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. He has hit the ground running. Since he came into office, we heard the announcement of 336 special school places, which is very welcome. It is also important to recognise that the Minister of State is not alone in his role. When we look at a child and put that child at the centre, there are educational, respite and therapeutic intervention needs. There has to be cross-government and cross-departmental support and collective working when we look at educational needs for children because, at all times, parents need all those vital supports. Respite is also a huge part of that when it comes to special education.

I have seen investment going into special education since 2020. It has been phenomenal to see a 48% increase in that investment. At the same time, there is no doubt that the building unit is struggling to keep pace with the requirement. There are peaks and troughs in this. Many of the peaks and troughs that add to this relate to the delays around assessments of need. There is no denying that whatsoever. It is very hard for school planning to take place. I welcome the new register that the NCSE brought out last September, whereby it is getting a wider lens of understanding of what the need is. One SENO cannot be across it all, but the most recent budget investment to increase the number of SENOs from 65 to 120, which means they can get to know the child better and get to know the family's needs, has been phenomenal. Work has also gone on in respect of the Dublin 15 task force, where we are working on a document to understand how families do not have to encounter countless applications from school to school. To see pressure put on that under the Minister of State's tenure, and to see it stood up and spread throughout the country, would remove much of the frustration and, at the same time, ensure that parents would have a one stop shop of knowing where they can be supported.

There is no doubt that the building unit is a frustration, but there is a need to understand that if a school is to be offered a modular unit, that school should be welcomed and taken on board. I know that a new ASD class was offered to Portumna Community School. There were no reservations about it. The raft concrete foundation went down, the room was built and it was opened instantly. From dealing with many boards of management, there is a reluctance when that bricks and mortar is not being offered. They feel that they are in something like the old prefabs of yesteryear. In fact, there are new methods of modern construction. We need to do a little work in reassuring principals, boards of management and parents' associations that modern methods of construction are really good. That classroom comes with a sensory room, is well kitted out and comes with large capacity. I understand the reluctance but there is a way to go when it comes to modern methods of construction.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, said this week that there will be assessed placements for teachers in special classes and special schools. That is very welcome because there is no doubt teachers need to have that training module. You do not send occupational therapists to disability and mental health and not also send them into acute or primary care. It is the same way with education. Teachers need to have a good grounding when it comes to the whole-school population they will be supporting in order that they will all have the basic skill set required.

In my research for the debate on this motion - and I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the opportunity to talk about special education - I looked at the matter of the mild general learning disability class, which was decommissioned in 2013. Will the Minister of State consider looking at the mild general learning disability class that was decommissioned? The ratio for it was 1:11, which meant that children with mild learning disability needs were supported while in mainstream, but they also had the opportunity to integrate in and out of it. Sometimes, when children move to secondary school level, they find the step up too great. They should have that safe space where they could go in and out of it, while at the same time getting the educational supports they need.

The programme for Government is very strong on therapeutic interventions in special schools and the hub-and-spoke model of supporting classes. I would like to know how many therapists have gone into our special schools. In the upcoming budgetary cycle, does the Minister of State plan on ensuring that we go from 39 to 150 therapists within the NCSE to provide the clinical governance that is required?Clinical governance to ensure that the assistant therapists can be taken on board and supported, be it in mainstream or in special education, would be a game changer.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is very welcome here. I welcome Sinn Féin's motion today as it is a matter that lies at the very heart of society: our commitment to ensuring every child receives the education they deserve. I formally second the Government's amendment to the motion.

Education is not a privilege but a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, every child must have access to education on an equal basis within their community. As a nation, we must stand firm in upholding this right and ensuring that every child with special educational needs has the appropriate school place. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to making this a reality and we are taking decisive steps to guarantee that every child, regardless of needs, has access to quality education.

The original motion does not take into account progress made to date. Our actions speak for themselves. The State has significantly increased investment in special education, with funding rising to €2.9 billion, a 48% increase since 2020. This investment has allowed us to enhance support systems, expand resources and, most importantly, provide opportunities for children with special educational needs to thrive.

One of our greatest achievements has been the expansion of our special education workforce. We have increased the number of special education teachers and special needs assistants, ensuring that students receive the individualised attention and support they require. These professionals play a crucial role in fostering an inclusive education environment. We have also implemented strategic initiatives to accelerate the provision of special class places in mainstream schools and special schools. Over the past five years, the number of special classes has doubled and we have established 16 new special schools. Looking ahead, we are working to provide an additional 400 special classes and 300 more special school places in the upcoming school year. The National Council for Special Education has already sanctioned 336 of these new special classes, with significant progress made on establishing five new special schools. Additionally, we recognise that families require guidance and support in navigating the education system. That is why we have expanded staffing at the NCSE to assist parents and caregivers at every stage of their children's educational journey. We have also prioritised engagement between the NCSE, the Department of Education, school patron bodies and management teams to ensure forward planning for special education. These efforts have led to additional special education classes being established in every county at both primary and post-primary level.

Legislative progress has also been made. In 2022, we enacted key legislation to empower the NCSE to direct schools to admit children with special educational needs, ensuring that no child is left behind. As Senator Rabbitte said, we have also launched the D15 task force to enhance forward planning for special education provision and pilot common application systems for special classes, streamlining access for families. Furthermore, we are committed to improving transitional supports for students with special educational needs. The Department of Education has published new guidelines to simplify the transition process and reduce the need for parents to seek updated professional reports when the child moves from primary school to post-primary school.

We are also taking steps to ensure that children receive the therapies they need within the school environment. A new pilot project, in partnership with the HSE, aims to reinstate therapy services on site in special schools. This aligns with our programme for Government commitment to provide an education-led therapy service for special schools.

Investment in professional development remains a priority. We are funding training and upskilling programmes for teachers and SNAs and have requested that the Teaching Council introduce a mandatory assessment placement period in special classes or special school settings for an initial teacher education programme.

In addition, a comprehensive review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 is nearing completion. This review will guide future policy to ensure that legislation reflects the evolving needs of children with disabilities.

As we continue this vital work, we call on the Government to take all necessary steps to ensure that every child with special educational needs has access to the appropriate school place in a timely manner; expand the number of special school places, special classes and special education teaching hours, as required across the country; improve communication with parents to streamline the application process for special school places, reducing the burden and delays; continue to increase investment in special education in order that every child can reach their full potential; support additional schools and students in participating in the summer programme; and ensure the NCSE continues to engage intensively with parents and educational partners to increase capacity and accessibility.

I listened to their story and I welcome Sarah and Darren Hennessy to the Chamber. Where I am from in Roscommon, we are blessed to have a number of school places for individuals and kids with disabilities and learning needs. St. Michael's Special School in Castlerea has recently undergone a major investment, and the teacher-SNA ratio there is one of the best in the country. My kids - I am a parent like other Members of the House - go to a national school in Termon, which 15 years ago was a rural school with 28 students but now has more than 250. The way that investment came was the principal taking on an opportunity and developing the special classes. The opportunity and the abundance of places that are available there at the moment is a credit to them and to our county. I listened to the Hennessys' story, and I hope it is something we will be able to support them with.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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Ahead of our next speaker, I welcome Councillor Moegie Maher to the Seanad. He is watching proceedings.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I commend my colleagues in Sinn Féin on tabling this Private Members' motion and welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. Cuirim fáilte roimhe and I offer my comhghairdeas on his appointment to this very important role.

This set of proposals comes within a particular context. At the moment, for example, there are more than 110,000 Irish children awaiting some sort of service, whether that be physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or psychological supports. We have 10,000 children waiting on an assessment of need and we have in our community disability network teams 700 vacancies across the country. That probably informs us to a certain extent what kind of a situation parents like Sarah and Darren are entering. As a parent of a disabled adult myself, unmet need has been our experience for over 20 years now. Last year, Inclusion Ireland surveyed children with special educational needs and their parents and found that, even among those who had a place, for 45% of them, their needs were not being met. We have to be intellectually honest with ourselves and understand that we are coming from a place of failure.

I read Senator Kyne's amendment. We are in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because our children do not de facto have access to education. Ireland is a developed country. We have a budget surplus. We are a wealthy country. We are also a country that prizes education - the land of saints and scholars, one of the only countries during the Dark Ages in Europe that produced literature, that translated things like the Bible into the vernacular, into Irish. So we are letting down these generations - Gen Z, Gen Alpha. They have been abandoned. We have to approach this coming from that position of intellectual honesty. We are also sorely in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we fully ratified last October, and we are in breach of the aspirations as set out in Bunreacht na hÉireann when it comes to our children. What makes this cohort of children who are denied these human rights - and I am blue in the face saying this - different from any other cohort of Irish citizens?They have additional needs; they are disabled. Unfortunately, if you are disabled or have additional needs in Ireland, it would appear to be the case that you have less human value in the eyes of the State and of bureaucracy than other citizens. I say that as a father and carer to a beautiful young man who happens to be disabled. I see his fundamental human rights breached and abrogated every day in so many ways. When you hear a diagnosis and discover your child is different, you go, like Alice inThrough the Looking-Glass, into a parallel republic that many people do not appreciate exists.

I want to comment on a couple of lines in the motion set out by Sinn Féin. It states we should ensure that every child currently without a suitable school place and those due to start or primary secondary school shall have access to a suitable school place within a reasonable distance from their home. Last September, over 130 children had no school place, and I assume they still do not. I do not know what the numbers will be for September 2025, but I imagine they will be similar because, according to the research, about 8.56% of our children will have additional needs. Considering that the leaving cert cohort every year is about 65,000, it means 5,000 children coming into the system every year will need additional supports. We need to plan for that.

On the matter of being able to have a school place, my son could not attend the same school as his siblings. He could not go to school with his brothers and sister. I get correspondence, as we all do, from hundreds of parents who are heartbroken because there is no place for their children or they are being offered a place that is an hour and a half away. How can you go to work when you have a child with no school place? We should think about that. How can you go to work, watch a football match? How can you participate in the cultural, economic or social life of this country with the unbearable anxiety and pain? It is trauma, moral injury and moral distress. It is not just the children who are affected; it is their entire families. This ruins relationships. It contaminates the relationships we have with one another and robs parents of their enjoyment of life and their anticipation of the future. With your other children, you do your best for them and hope they will realise their full potential, but when your child has an additional need, you hand him or her over to others. Boy, did they fail us in respect of every aspect of development.

I wish the Minister of State the very best of luck in his portfolio. I echo what Senator Tully said in that I know him to be a man of absolute integrity and know he is passionate about the rights of disabled citizens. I know he will do absolutely everything in his power to advance their cause. However, we really have to be intellectually honest, as we were during the financial crash. Matters should be taken out of our hands because we have thoroughly and comprehensively failed our children. Some of the figures mentioned in the amendment, which I acknowledge is well meaning, remind me of the closing scenes of the film “Downfall”, in which the general staff are presented with phantom units and numbers. Such figures and references to strategies and aspirations will not provide one’s child with a place or the therapies and supports he or she needs.

I have a final question for the Minister. I am sorry I am over time. The educational therapy support service was launched in September and was supposed to have a pilot project whereby therapists were supposed to have been placed in schools. Is it operational anywhere in the Republic? Is there an example of where it is operating successfully?

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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Before we move to the next speaker, I welcome the guests of Ronan Smith, House detective, to the Gallery.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I am sharing time. I thank Sinn Féin for raising this issue in the Chamber today. We all know that no child should be denied their fundamental right to education, but across Ireland we see children with additional needs who are left without school places and we are forcing families into an endless battle with the system. It is not just a failure; it is a complete disgrace. All of us in this room, regardless of political background, where we come from or where we are sitting, have had heartbreaking conversations with parents who are struggling to find school places for their children, and we feel desperate that we cannot offer any solution. The plethora of stories we hear very much speak for themselves. Families requiring special educational support are being neglected. This is not new; it has been going on for years. We are not getting comprehensive solutions; rather, we are getting cobbled-together, last-minute responses, leading to much undue stress for families.

We are also seeing, as a result of this, what is very much a postcode lottery whereby children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are often the hardest hit. As Senator Clonan has said time and again in this Chamber, we need a rights-based approach to education and disability whereby every child gets the support he or she needs, without exception. That should be the norm.

Expanding school places in classes is essential but so is long-term planning. The Education (Inclusion of Persons) Bill 2023 and the Education (Amendment) Bill 2024 must be enacted to ensure no child is left behind. Schools need proper funding. We need to put money into vital services before we go off spending money on other things – military jets, for example. We need streamlined processes to open new classes, investment in teachers and SNA recruitment. Last year, the then Minister, Deputy Foley, said there was not a problem with staffing in schools. That does not reflect the reality on the ground that we hear about when we speak to parents and families.

In addition, we need to see expanded therapeutic support in schools, speech therapy, occupational therapy and psychological support. It should be normal practice to have all these supports built into the education system, no matter the size of a school or where it is. No child should be waiting months or, appallingly, years for the help they need.

A society is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable. Many in this room would agree that we are very much failing that test right now.

Laura Harmon (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State and look forward to engaging with him in his brief.

It is safe to say this is one of the biggest access-to-education issues we are facing in this country. Approximately 100 children in Cork are still waiting to be offered a school place this September. I recently attended in Cork city a protest on this issue organised by Nicole Hosford. I actually bumped into her today. I believe she has been up for meetings in Leinster House today. I heard from parents and families at the protest who have had to become full-time campaigners for their children. We heard the dream of some parents. All they want is to be able to go into Buckley’s shop in Shandon Street, Cork, to buy a school uniform for their children so they can go to school with all the other children. We know that at least 200 children with special educational needs nationally have had to seek some home tuition as a last resort because a school place was not readily available for them this school year.

Just the other day, I met representatives of the Rainbow Club, Mahon, Cork city. The organisation is providing an invaluable service to children and families who have been locked out of education and system supports. Currently, the organisation is supporting 1,342 people. It offers an incredible service and is seeking additional supports. To expand, it is seeking a new premises. Its representatives speak very highly of Senator Rabbitte, who engaged with them previously.

Ireland has ratified the Optional Protocol to the UNCRPD but children’s disability network teams remain underfunded and understaffed. It is vital that we implement an autism guarantee to secure an appropriate school place for every child and develop a fully inclusive model of education that vindicates the right to education of all children across a range of disabilities and complies with the UNCRPD and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Disability advocacy organisations must be part of this process when developing new policy initiatives, and it is essential that we get the people working in this field to be part of any policy initiatives and changes. It is very simple. We need to see an expansion of the educational therapy support service through the NCSE, more in-school therapists and the provision of better training for teachers while they obtain teaching degrees.

On SNAs, we should get rid of the 72-hour obligation and provide training to QQI level 6 equivalent.We need to undertake an autism audit of all schools and provide autism CPD training to school staff to ensure that mainstream schools can facilitate the inclusion of autistic children to the greatest extent possible.

I welcome this debate. I fully support the motion from Sinn Féin and I thank the party for bringing it forward.

Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. He has been a long-time advocate for and champion of the disability sector, which has been a great pillar of his political life to date. I have great expectations that he is going to do well in his role. It would be remiss of me, but not because she is sitting in front of me, not to acknowledge the huge work that former Deputy and now Senator Anne Rabbitte did during her time as Minister of State in this area, often against fierce resistance within her Department and the disability sector. That should not be forgotten today.

While I would be the first to put my hand up to acknowledge the deficits in the delivery of our special education, it is the case that we are spending a huge amount of money on it. A full 25% of the education budget is spent on special education but we also need to call out many school management boards and unions regarding their resistance to the delivery of special education over the years. I do not believe money is the issue here. The issue is a willingness and eagerness to really bed this in. There is nobody in this House who is not affected by the need for special education at various levels. Every family has its own experience and can relate a tale. We are in a very privileged position, as elected representatives, because we see at first hand the many challenges that so many families are facing across Ireland. Many say that housing will define this period of government and elected representation in this country. In reality, however, it will be special education, how we deliver it and how we look after the disabled community right across Ireland that will define us. Covid was extremely challenging. The scars of the pandemic can be seen right across the country. The greatest impact was on the disability sector. We need to row back on that. Many people need to put their hands up and accept responsibility. I lay the blame firmly on some school boards of management and trade unions in that regard.

I want to reference a couple of local cases that I have already discussed with the Minister of State. One of them concerns a parent who has contacted the Minister of State directly about her non-verbal 13 year old son. Unfortunately, the child's school is not providing the necessary supports for his needs. It does not have access to a CDNT behavioural therapist. The parent offered to provide this service herself, privately, in the school setting but that was not possible. The school was not prepared to work with that. She subsequently contacted CAMHS but was informed that due to the lack of a behavioural therapist in Longford and the absence of senior psychologists in the area, the CDNT would not realistically be able to provide the supports her son needs. To her great distress, she was advised that she should perhaps consider residential care as an option. This is a woman who has given up her career to care full-time for this young man. He is a wonderful young man. I have a daughter the same age. It must have been a crushing blow for his mother to get a call advising to consider residential care. She is now looking at her options and has contacted the Minister of State directly in relation to her application for the Middletown Centre for Autism. As he Minister of State is well aware, places there are at a premium. I ask him to take a look at the case to which I refer to see what he can do to assist this young man and his family.

I have also discussed with the Minister of State the situation in relation to a rural school in County Longford. As I said earlier, many school boards of management have to step up and accept responsibility. At the same time, we have absolute champions in some schools. Many small, rural schools, faced with the prospect of declining numbers and the loss of a teacher identified that there was a need for special education in their area and are now attracting pupils from right across the wider hinterland. They have been great champions in this area, and there should be no impediment to those schools delivering that service. The school that I reference - and I have sent the details to the Minister of State - is very much a role model in this regard. However, it is now faced with a challenge. It has been allocated 1.6 full-time posts. It is slightly short of that but it can resolve that if it is allowed to include English as an additional language, the 0.5 full-time role. That would bring it up to the number it needs. I hope the Minister of State can come up with a solution in that case as well.

I have two final points to make, one of which is in relation to additional places at St. Christopher's special school in Longford. It is a champion in the delivery of special education. It was one of the new special education schools delivered in the lifetime of the previous Government. In terms of its current autism classes, I know of one young boy, born in 2012, who is third on the waiting list for a place in September and for a younger autism class, there is another young boy who is one of two on the waiting list. Realistically, if these guys get a recommendation from the NCSE that they need a place in a special education setting, we cannot turn around and place them back in an autism class in a regular school. They need the additional supports that they will get at St. Christopher's.

My final point is one I have mentioned to the Minister of State many times and one that St. Christopher's in Longford has made to me many times, which is the absence of a special school in County Leitrim. This is putting additional and major pressure on Longford, Sligo and the adjoining counties because people from Leitrim have no option but to try to access services in those counties. I do not expect the Minister of State to have this in place by this September but I would be happy with September 2026, if the Minister of State wants to make a mental note of that. Certainly, if we had provision in Leitrim to deliver that service it would ease the bottlenecks, particularly in terms of those five additional places in St. Christopher's this year.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in and wish him well in his role. I have great hopes and expectations and I know that he will bring the passion that has defined his political career to date to this area. I do not undersell or understate the matter when I say that this is the defining challenge of our times. How we how we treat people with disabilities and those who need special education will set us apart as a society.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the motion from Sinn Féin. This is an important debate. The motion makes a valuable contribution to a debate that we should be having on a rolling basis. I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome his commitment. I also acknowledge, as others did, the work of Senator Rabbitte in the Department previously.

All politics is local, according to the great Tip O'Neill, who was of Cork extraction. For that reason, I will begin by welcoming the new ASD units in Clifferna National School in Stradone, in Ballynary National School in Kilnaleck and St. Joseph's National School in Kingscourt. These are very good and welcome announcements that were made just last week. I am also very happy that we have two excellent autism units in my hometown of Bailieborough in both the primary and second level schools.

Initially, I want to look at has been achieved and then move on to talk about some of the challenges implicit in the motion. It is important to note that we have 124 special schools, 3,330 special classes and that budget 2025 provided for 300 additional special school places and 400 special classes. These new places will accommodate 2,700 students and five new special schools will open in the coming year. That is all encouraging. It is also important to note the huge State investment this year of €2.9 billion in supporting the provision of special education, a 48% increase on 2020. Those are the main headline figures but there is one other figure that is quite extraordinary. We now have 23,000 SNAs in our schools which marks a dramatic change from my youth and from my own time as a teacher. There was a recent announcement of €1.9 million by the Minister of State, who is being very proactive, and the Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee, for the Atlantic Technological University to provide in-service training to augment the skills of SNAs. That is a great figure because the SNAs are crucial and I know this from talking to my youngest son. I am very proud that he is a primary teacher and he tells me that the SNAs are so meaningful and that they make an enormous difference in the classroom. They go beyond the call of duty and beyond anything that might be reasonably expected of them.Those are some of the situations that we are in. I know the Government is increasing the number of SENOs but we need to speed up assessments. That is the one issue. If we can get the assessments speeded up, we should be better able to make projections as to special class needs based on those assessments and on experience in recent years. If we could achieve those objectives, it would be great. Time is short, but I want my colleague, Senator Nelson Murray, to have an input into this debate as well.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Sarah and Darren Hennessy to the Gallery. I welcome any conversations about special education. I am on the board of a fabulous special school, Saint Ultan's, in Navan, County Meath. I am delighted to discuss all of this with the Minister of State.

Like everyone in this room who are working with many children trying to access school places, this issue is very close to our hearts. I wish to talk about Willow Carroll, whose mum, Tracy, would knock anyone out in a boxing ring such is her determination to fight for disability rights and for fairness for her daughter and children like her daughter. I disagree with one part of the motion where it states: "the failure of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments to adequately plan for and invest in the expansion of special education". There is €2.9 billion allocated in 2025 to support the provision of special education and that is a 48% increase since 2020.

Going back to Willow's mum, Tracy, she, like many other parents, sent out letters and begged special schools to take her daughter into their educational setting. Willow is a very special girl who has severe, complex needs but she is a little beauty and a little fighter like her mum. Like many other mums, Tracy got refusal letter after refusal letter. However, Tracy, deciding not to give up and determined to avail of the inclusivity model, approached a mainstream school that her son Noah was attending. It is a wonderful school. Cathal Ó Bric is the principal of Boyerstown National School, outside Navan. The wheels were set in motion between Tracy, the school, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education at the time, Josepha Madigan, the Minister of State with responsibility for disability at the time, Senator Anne Rabbitte, the NCSE, the SENO, myself and the Deputy I worked for. Senators should witness what that rainbow classroom is like. In true Willow form, she is taught in that class, in her own way, along with three other girls and a new boy starting in September, all by teacher, Geraldine, and the nurse staff.

What this Government has done is ensure that five kids with very complex special needs in Navan are going to school along with other schoolmates. I do not disagree with what everyone is saying about wanting and needing to do more. We need to; we have to. Every child deserves an education. I am simply saying that we are working on it and achieving classrooms like the rainbow room. That is a classroom every child deserves. We need equitable seats in a class that are appropriate for a child's needs. Our approach needs to be child-centred and what is most important is that we listen to their voices and plan ahead. Let us imagine a situation where children with additional needs have a choice of school within their own communities with therapies on-site. I am confident that my colleagues, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will ensure that investment continues in education for these children and their families.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as ucht an rún tábhachtach seo a chur os comhair an Tí seo. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit. Tá súil agam go rachaidh sé i ngleic leis an gceist chasta seo as seo amach.

I support an inclusive approach to education and recognise the constitutional right of all children to an education, tailored to their individual needs, as articulated in our Education Act 1998, which states it should be "made available to each person resident in the State, including a person with a disability or who has other special educational needs, support services and a level and quality of education appropriate to meeting the needs and abilities of that person".

That is a legislative imperative. Over the years, developments in that legislation and case law have shaped the landscape, including key documents such as the Disability Act 2005, Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Needs) Act 2022, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Irish Sign Language Act 2017. Those significant legislative advances left significant gaps, always in the pursuit of essential support services, particularly in schools that are augmented by the HSE. Schools have become increasingly the de facto providers of well-being and support for children outside of the family.

I want to take a small issue with Senator O’Flaherty, who is no longer present, when he said he considered trade unions to be obstructive in the work done in special education needs and provision. That is not my experience. I probably hold the record in this House as the person with the longest experience of school attendance. It started on 1 July 1957 and only finished last December, before I was elected to the House. That is 67 years of watching the progress of school, and by gum, have I seen some changes in that time. During the last 20 years of that career, I was given the great privilege and opportunity to go into schools when I was working with a teacher training college. Every day of the week I was looking at student teachers and assessing them on their teacher placements. I had a great opportunity to see the work being done by the teachers in the classroom with children with special needs at first-hand. Of all the deficits that we have in the special education provision in this country, they have been extraordinarily decreased by the primary school teachers through the work that they do using the universal design for learning, UDL, what we call differentiation, for the different levels in the classroom. When I talk to them, what they say most frequently is that while they spend a lot of time with certain children in the class with special needs, they worry about the other, say, 21 children who have no special needs but they are all individuals with various special needs of their own, although they are not designated as that. That is something that we have to remember in the great balance and the great panoply of things in education. If 5% of the schoolgoing population has obvious and designated special needs, 95% do not. The challenge for teachers, the system, the Minister of State and the Government when budgeting is to not lose sight of the ordinary children in the classroom because they have very definite needs as well. When I went into a school in Tallaght in 1973 as a young teacher, the buzzword in education when referring to deficit was "asthma". What people were worried about was inhalers and asthma. In the eighties, the buzzword was "dyslexia". Later, the fashion was dyspraxia and dyscalculia. There was an episode with relationships and sexuality. That took up approximately two years of the educational agenda. Since then, we have become very much taken up with the Asperger syndrome and the autism spectrum. That is really crucifying budgets and placing demands on the system. The trade unions and the 50,000 teachers they represent have not been obstructive in the debate and in the provision of special education; they have been quite the contrary. All of these issues will be solved. We learn that. All of the issues that beset the educational system will be solved but it will take a lot of money, a lot of patience, a lot of insight and a lot of thinking outside the box. I could talk for hours on this.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is welcome to the House and I am particularly glad he is taking this motion. I commend Sinn Féin on laying the motion before the House and giving us the opportunity to discuss this important topic. We are all aware of the issues facing families with special education needs. The Minister of State has a deep, personal and long-standing commitment to this topic and there is no better person to be in charge of this. I look forward to seeing significant progress in the next couple of years under his tenure.

I also pay tribute to our colleague, Senator Rabbitte, who was in this role prior to her appointment to the Seanad. She did an excellent job, was extremely passionate and made significant progress in this area but, of course, we have a long road to go.

Significant progress has been made in recent weeks and I wish to touch on the special education needs classes announced for my own constituency. Loreto Secondary School in Balbriggan got an extra class and 1.5 teachers to support it. Ballyboughal National School got one class. Hedgestown National School got one class. Rolestown National School got two classes. Bremore Educate Together Secondary School got one class. This is just one small area of north County Dublin and is replicated in every other constituency around the country. It is not enough to meet the demand, but when those classes were announced, I had many happy parents in touch me. It is reaching some people and some families will avail of this, so it is really well received. I hope the Government will announce more of these classes in the coming weeks and months.

I wish to make specific reference to something I have mentioned to the Minister of State before, namely, the issue of reading schools and reading classes within the education system. These are specific classes for children with dyslexia. There are four reading schools in Ireland, three in Dublin and one in Cork, and 11 reading classes around the country. In north County Dublin, we have one in St. Oliver Plunkett National School in Malahide, one in St. Molaga's National School in Balbriggan and one in Holy Family Senior National School in Swords. The last reading class was opened approximately 25 years ago and was an initiative under Micheál Martin when he was Minister for Education and Science. In case Members are not aware of them, these classes are a really crucial lifeline for children with dyslexia. If they qualify for admission to a reading class, the class is attached to a mainstream school. Children must have finished second class and have their reading abilities and IQs assessed. They are placed in the reading class for two years in an intensive programme to help them to meet their potential and give them the crucial skills to learn how to read. It is really important for their self-esteem and children who have been to a reading class make significant progress. It also helps them and their families significantly.

From next September, there will be more than 2,500 special education classes but only 11 readings classes, with the last one opened 25 years ago. I ask the Minister of State to look at this specifically because, while the classes outlined this motion are welcome and much needed, they are focusing on children with ADHD or autism. Children with dyslexia have specific needs and our population and the number of children with dyslexia is increasing. There is a clear a demand. Regarding the schools I mentioned in north County Dublin with a reading class, there were 41 applications made for the 12 places in St. Oliver Plunkett National School in Malahide and 36 applications for six places in Holy Family Senior National School in Swords. All the other 11 classes around the country see considerable demand, as do the four specific reading schools, which are completely dedicated to this model of teaching reading to children with dyslexia. This is something I want the Minister of State to look at and I might follow it up with him because it is important. While the work done in recent years is excellent, and we need more of it, we cannot forget about the children with dyslexia. I wish the Minister the very best of luck and I look forward to significant progress being made.

We are all aware of the difficulties for families and how heartbreaking it is. Unfortunately, it is not getting any better. More children are being diagnosed and there is greater demand in our communities. Our population is increasing and we have a duty and obligation to provide education for everyone in our communities. I know that is the guiding principle the Minister of State is working under and I wish him the best of luck. I look forward to hearing more announcements, specifically for north County Dublin.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is welcome to the House and I join others in wishing him well in his term ahead. It is an important area and one he has an interest in and passion for. I wish him well in all our interests but most importantly the interests of the children with special needs and their parents.

I acknowledge the Sinn Féin motion. It is important to have a debate on this topic. Fine Gael and the Government more widely are acutely aware of the importance of education to the people of this country. For generations, successive Governments have looked on education as a fundamental right for everybody, not just a few, and as a means of increasing knowledge and the prosperity of the country. We have a good track record with our students and graduates who get a good start and go through university, as well as a tolerant society based on a high-quality, accessible education system that has been the envy of many countries and has consistently produced sought-after graduates.

New school buildings have been a priority in the past and the result is there for all to see across the country. We have built a large number of schools and school extensions and, as a result of this investment, the number of prefabs has declined dramatically. There is, of course, a need to do more as our population and the needs of pupils continue to grow and we have plans in place to do that. In the specific area of special education, we are now spending almost €3 billion - a 48% increase in funding since 2020 - and providing another 400 special classes and 300 additional special school places this year. Sixteen new special schools are being established, all to ensure every child who needs a special place has one.

We are also providing funding for the training and upskilling of teachers and SNAs who support children with special needs. The Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee, has requested the inclusion of a placement in a special needs setting for all teachers doing their teaching education. This is a positive proposal and I commend the Minister of State and Government for their role in that as well.

I want to mention the Ábalta Special School in Galway that has gone through huge challenges in trying to find a suitable alternative site. We have parents travelling all the way from Ennis in County Clare to Galway city for the Ábalta Special School, which is a significant challenge. Initially, there were plans to move to Clarinbridge and the GRETB has now taken over patronage of that school. In conjunction with the Educate Together school in Oranmore, it has plans to locate on that campus, which is welcome. Ábalta provides an important service to parents in Galway and elsewhere and the ETB is going to increase the number of pupils within that school, which is welcome.

As part of its amendment, the Government is calling to ensure every child who needs a space in special education will have one. Finding school places is stressful, particularly under our current system. Some places may have different models but the application process to find a school can be quite difficult. This can be even more stressful when a child has additional needs.There are often delays with the application process and in the context of decisions being made, which can be stressful, particularly for the pupils. It is important that we liaise and engage with parents to achieve the best outcomes for their children and reduce the burden on parents so that they know what lies ahead in their children's educational journeys. Certainty is important. It is important that parents know what is ahead and where their children will be going so they can ensure that places are available. As a result of the severity of their additional needs, some children cherish and need routine. They need to know where they are going and what is ahead of them. They need to know how to travel there, what time to leave the house, what time to come home, who else is on the bus and whatever else. Those are all important details for children with additional needs. We and they need that certainty.

We need to continue to invest in buildings, staff, facilities and therapy services, all of which are important. The summer programme has been successful and it is important we continue to expand it. That is mentioned in the proposal. It has been of great benefit to children and their parents. I welcome the commitment to continue the programme. The support for additional summer school places is welcome. I am not sure if figures are available to show whether demand is matching supply. Are we achieving that or are children being left without? That is important. It is also important for us to look at the range of other factors called for in the motion.

I welcome, in particular, the renewed focus of the Government on the area of disability. When we have the resources, it is important that we look at those who are the most vulnerable, in need and deserving. Special children and their families, who have a lot of challenges, deserve the very best from society and Government, and that will require investment. I welcome the proposals that have been put forward by the Government in the amendment to the motion.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State. For too many families in my area, securing an appropriate school place for a child with additional needs is a battle. It is a battle against waiting lists, inadequate resources and a system that often places too much bureaucracy ahead of children's rights. In County Limerick, the reality is stark. Parents of children with autism and other additional needs are struggling to find suitable school places. Mainstream schools are under pressure and struggling to provide proper support due to a lack of special education teachers, SNAs and appropriate facilities. Meanwhile, special classes and special schools simply do not have enough capacity to meet the demand.

I met the mother of a young boy with autism who lives in Hospital, County Limerick. The closest school place available to her child is in Ennis, County Clare, which is over an hour's drive from her house. She has to carry her child, who does not cope well in restricted spaces, such as in a car with a seatbelt, for over an hour travelling to and from school. It gets worse. Because the child is now attending school in County Clare, every single assessment and occupational therapy appointment is carried out in County Clare.

We have all heard the heartbreaking stories of children who are forced to travel long distances outside their communities for school places, families who are left in limbo with no clear pathways for their children's education and children being placed in unsuitable settings because there is no alternative. These are not isolated cases but are happening in towns and villages across County Limerick and, indeed, across the State.

The figures are backed up. Year after year, we see an increase in the number of children requiring special educational supports, yet planning and provision are not keeping pace. The NCSE acknowledges the shortfalls but solutions remain slow and inadequate. Parents are exhausted, schools are frustrated and children are being let down. This is simply not good enough. Every child has a right to an education that meets their needs. Every family should have confidence that the support their child requires is available. Every school should have the resources they need to deliver that support.

What do we need? The amendment needs to be rejected because it completely waters down our motion. The children of this island need and deserve what is contained in our motion. The use of language such as "in a timely manner" is not acceptable in 2025 after years of inaction from this Government. The amendment refers to ensuring that every child known to the NCSE has an appropriate school place. What about all the children who are not known to the NCSE because they cannot access the assessments? I find it funny, if that is the right word, how many Senators from across the floor who are commending us for bringing forward this motion when the Government side has completely rewritten it and watered it down to give their own parties a clause that allows them to get out of doing anything. Standing up and spouting figures and facts and patting themselves and their colleagues on their backs is not going to help the situation. It is certainly not going to bring solace to parents such as Sarah and Darren behind me in the Gallery. I ask every parent, grandparent and anyone with a sense of right and wrong to reject the amendment.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge Sarah and Darren and the fight they are undertaking for their son, Freddie. They are replicating the battle that so many people and families have had to put up with in recent years. It does not seem a lot to ask that a child would have access to an education.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's new role. It is important and I wish him success. It is important for everyone that he is successful in the role.

I am fearful and do not have a lot of hope at the moment. The families of neurodiverse children and children with special needs have been let down so often. So many children have been let down by the system. It is devastating for them. Families are often outside the gates of Leinster House, pleading for school places for their children. It seems to go on and on. The Government talks a good game but the reality for families is very different.

Senator Clonan said that special needs children should have access to school places with their siblings. That is not an unreasonable request. We would all agree with that proposal but it is not happening. I know that Involve Autism, a local group in Dublin 6, did some research and advocacy. It established that in 2024 and 2025, the cost of transporting a child with special educational needs to school in south Dublin, which comprises Dublin 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18, was €122,000 per day. That was the cost to bus children out of their communities and just in south Dublin. It works out to €610,000 per week to bus children out of south Dublin to schools that are far away from their families and siblings. It works out as €2.5 million per month for buses and taxis to bring children to school. That is insane. It works out as €30 million per year. Why is that money not being spent on classes? The Government has an enormous challenge. It is important that it is successful.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I wholly support the Sinn Féin motion. Across the country, there are thankless parents who have to fight tooth and nail to get access to education for their children. As was mentioned already, a child's right to education is enshrined in our Constitution. There must be equal access to education for children with disabilities. In Cavan and Monaghan, people have to travel for multiple hours to bring their children to school as there is no special educational class closer to home.

The programme for Government has committed to ensuring that each child with a special educational need has access to an appropriate school place. This is commendable, but I hope that these promises are, in fact, brought to fruition in time for parents who are worried about having a school place for their child in September. Parents are being told the importance of early intervention in significantly improving outcomes for children by fostering cognitive, social and emotional development, and yet these parents who are seeking this support find themselves being failed at every turn.We need to place particular emphasis on the recruitment and training of teachers and SNAs to ensure they are equipped to meet the needs of students in special education classes. Without educational professionals, we simply cannot honour the fundamental right of every child to access education.

As we are all aware, there are teacher shortages and this undoubtedly has an impact on the provision of special education. There needs to be a multifaceted approach that targets issues such as the availability of housing and the cost of living, and in order to provide a high standard of education and cater for a range of diverse needs, we need to ensure that teachers and SNAs can afford to live and pay for accommodation.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak today.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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As there are no other Senators indicating, I welcome the Aire Stáit, Deputy Moynihan, and call him to speak.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you very much, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I wish you well in your role.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senators for raising the issues.

In the first instance, I thank Senator Tully, because we worked closely on the Committee on Disability Matters in the previous term. We certainly raised the issues, along with Senator Clonan and, indeed, Senator Rabbitte, who put a huge amount of effort into her role in the previous Dáil as Minister of State. I thank all Senators who have been liaising with me over the past while in terms of the issue of special education and inclusion. I know of all the deep interest the Senators have in the topic and the desire that we have to support children with additional needs and their families.

I have met many families and parents, as a TD, in assisting them on special educational supports and I know full well the challenges that Darren and Sarah are going through, on a personal level as well as everything else - the pain, anguish and frustration that is faced on a daily basis. As Minister of State in this role, I do not want parents to feel that they are forgotten or ignored and I recognise, desperately deeply, the challenges that parents the length and breadth of the country face. I know the struggles that they are facing and it is one of the top priorities in my role to ensure that there is a system that is working for parents and for children.

It is important that the issue of services for children with special educational needs is kept to the fore of proceedings and that we ensure together, across government, a better quality of services is delivered for the children across the country. In the debate that we have had over the past hour or so, the sincerity of what was put on the floor is very much welcomed, as is, in debates that we have both in the Dáil and, indeed, in my parliamentary party last week, the sincerity of public representatives in reflecting the massive challenges that are out there.

As we look forward to the 2025-26 year, the most pressing issue facing children with special educational needs and their families is clarity around their school placements. While most of our children and young people with special educational needs are supported by their class teachers, special education teachers and SNAs, we must acknowledge the enormous role that special needs assistants have played in improving and creating an atmosphere right across the school system over the years. Since their introduction over a quarter of a century ago, the SNAs have developed into a crucial role. I see at first hand in many schools that we have visited and, indeed, schools that I have visited, not only in this role but as a public representative over many years, the enormous job satisfaction that special needs assistants get from their job, but also the role that we should never stop acknowledging, along with the teachers, the school communities and all who work there on it.

I, as Minister of State with responsibility for special education, along with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, meet the National Council for Special Education, the chair of the board and senior Department officials to track the progress being made on providing new special classes and special school places. We have met on a weekly basis since my appointment a number of weeks ago. I assure all Senators here, and more importantly the parents and families involved, that the work is getting the utmost attention from me as Minister of State within the Department of Education. If I reflect back on the role in the previous Dáil and, indeed, over the time that I have been a public representative, the job we are charged with is to make the lives of people with disabilities, their families, their communities and their carers better. That is something that I take extremely seriously in the role that I have been given.

The number of special needs classes available in our schools has doubled over the past five years to over 3,300. We have established 11 new special schools and five new special schools will open in the coming year. Over the past number of weeks, we have sanctioned 336 of the 400 special classes provided for in the coming school year. There is extensive work ongoing in the Department of Education and the NCSE to confirm the remaining classes over the next while. I am sure Senators will appreciate that engagement between schools and the National Council for Special Education and the Department is key to this and the ideal situation is to progress these classes through co-operation and goodwill. It is also important to mention that, although many barriers remain in getting those classes open, I am not opposed to using the legislative levers at our disposal if needed and we are getting close to the point that we will have to trigger the legislative proposal to get the final classes in place.

Like all of the Senators as public representatives, I meet parents on a daily basis and I know full well the stress and anxiety on them. I meet them at their kitchen tables, I meet them in my constituency clinics and I meet them in daily life as well.

This year, we saw an emphasis placed on notifying the National Council for Special Education earlier, that being, 1 February. It is important that we be earlier in the school cycle and pull back to September-October time for the following year. Families and children are coming forward and we are trying to work to make sure that they have places in a timely fashion. We are facing 1 April shortly and we still have a number of places to be sanctioned and a number of children to ensure that they have places.

We will also look at the information that is available from within the State services, for example, from within the AIM programme, which supports children with additional needs in preschool, and from the Department of Social Protection in terms of domiciliary care. It is important that this information be collated - of course, there are the public health nurses in the system - and put together in a timely fashion so that the Department of Education, in forward planning, has the information that is available so that we can have places available earlier to relieve pressure on families. It is not only the parents, but the wider families as well that have huge concerns. I refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. Their main wish is to do the very best for children who have additional needs and they are constantly looking for how can they get better services for them. The common application system is being trialled this year and, I am sure, will help relieve some of the administrative burden by allowing parents to submit one application to many schools but may also provide other opportunities as it evolves.

I am not going to say there are not other complexities when seeking a special educational placement but the simple fact of the matter is that children should not be in a position of only being told in June where they will go to school the following September. Like the Senators in their communities, I have met families in the last week of June when their children are leaving primary school but they still do not know where their children will be going in the first week of September. As a public representative, you feel a sense of not doing enough for those families because of the need that is there. I remember meeting a number of parents and the anguish - it is always a joyous day when the school is finishing for the summer - of them not knowing where their children will go. That is no longer acceptable. We have to be in earlier.If a child is going through a special class in a primary school for eight years, that information is clearly available to the Department. We must make sure that we are talking to the families and to the school authorities earlier in the year. That information does not just become available in January or February of the year they are leaving school. It is available for eight years and we know that is going to be the situation.

To that end, last year in the budget, special educational needs organisers were increased from 65 to 120. That is a crucial role. The more SENOs we have in the field, the better. The job of the SENO is to liaise with the families, to have the information collated and make sure we are playing a very positive role in supporting families and schools at their local level.

I am happy to work with all Senators who have specific queries about individual children or specific schools in respect of special education. The Department of Education and the NCSE will be happy to provide updates on any particular queries.

While we have a lot to do, over recent years a lot has been achieved. Between 2020 and the end of this year, the number of special classes in schools will have grown significantly, from just over 1,800 to 3,700. At the same time, 16 special schools will have been established. It is important that all these special schools are opened. We did not open special schools for many years because we were mainstreaming. I remember that when I was chair of the education committee over 20 years ago, they were talking about mainstreaming education. There is a very important place for the special schools and we have to look at the challenges that are being faced right across the country. Members mentioned issues in Leitrim, Cork and Dublin and right across the country in respect of special schools.

We have to acknowledge that 97% of all children attending school today, including the majority of children who have additional needs, are within mainstream settings. Nevertheless, if you visit a special school, you see the complexity of the needs of the children, both medical and behavioural. There are significant complexities there. Reference was made to transport costs for special schools in specific locations. Senator Flaherty mentioned going from Leitrim to Longford. Children have to have special schools within their own communities as well. Over 50% of school transport money is being spent on special education. I believe it would be better spent if we had more schools within local communities rather than expecting children to leave home on a bus at 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning and not be back until 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening. That would be challenging for a neurotypical child, not to mention a child with additional needs. That was mentioned in respect of Limerick and Clare as well during the debate. It is important that we have forward planning in that regard.

We have done a huge amount of work. I commend the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on the way we have worked together on this issue over the past six or seven weeks. We are going to continue to do so. I firmly believe that we have a huge volume of work to do. The figures and information coming towards the Department and the NCSE will mean that we will have to open more classes, in primary schools and in second level education. While I compliment and thank all the school authorities that have been to the fore in embracing this development, there are also schools that need to do more in embracing special education. Some of the schools, when they have a special class, the engagement means their school community has blossomed because of that special class. Kids within the mainstream classes and the special class have come together.

As well as that, we have to deal with the existing infrastructure and build on it. We have to make sure we have places for children earlier in the school cycle. We also have to stop the practice of having school places for special schools at the end of a complex. It needs to be out front. We need to be proud and bold, show that people who are attending special schools are a hugely important part of our society, and embrace and welcome them. In some schools in the centres of towns and villages, the interaction between the mainstream schools, be they second level or primary schools, and the special schools or classes makes for a better society. Similarly, when the pupils are travelling through the town or village, it is all-encompassing and it is a welcome development.

I thank Sinn Féin for the motion. I am deeply committed to special education. I thank all colleagues in the Seanad for their contributions. I know they are genuine and heartfelt. I want to work with each and every one of the Members so that we can make the system better for the children, their parents, their carers and their communities.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State and all the Members who spoke on the motion. I acknowledge Sarah and Darragh in the Gallery and hope an appropriate school placement for their son Freddie is identified without delay.

Our population is increasing quite quickly. With that, the percentage of individuals with disabilities is increasing. In particular, the prevalence of autism is anticipated to reach 4.3% of the population. We are going to see a lot more people requiring support. I acknowledge that many autistic children attend mainstream school and need little or no support, but some will need more. The Minister of State referred to inclusive education. We need to look at a more inclusive education form.

While there is a need for special schools for those with much more complex disabilities, I do think parents might agree to send their child to a mainstream school if they could be assured that the supports the child needs are going to be present in the school. A lot of parents believe their child would not survive in a mainstream school because they have a vision of a mainstream school without the proper supports, and that is the case in some instances. I taught for many years in a mainstream school. I taught autistic children and children with Down’s syndrome, those with mild and moderate learning difficulties and those with physical disabilities. It was a very inclusive space and it benefited all of the children in the school because they were all mixed. They all accepted each other for their differences and so forth. The NCSE, the Department and all of us need to look at that. With the increase in the number of students who may have additional needs, we need to make sure they can be educated with their siblings in their own community and can get an appropriate education in that sphere.

I commend the NCSE on its work. The fact that it has increased the number of SENOs is really welcome. The SENOs were overloaded with work and did not know the students they were dealing with. They could not because they had too many to know. They are committed to getting to know all the students and ensuring they can be placed in an appropriate school setting based on that. The Minister of State said he, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Department are working with the NCSE. That is welcome and has to be done on an ongoing basis to ensure everyone gets the place they need.

The key comes back to the therapies. That the therapies are not being provided in the community is having a devastating effect on children and their ability to learn. We had therapists in our special schools but they were withdrawn about five years ago. We are now looking at a pilot programme to put them back in. I am not sure why we need a pilot programme to put therapists back into special schools when they used to be in special schools. We cannot put therapists into special schools only, however. Otherwise, when parents are not getting the support in the community, they will all want their children to attend the special schools so that they can avail of the much-needed therapies. Some of the schools were talking to me about having therapists come into their schools, if there could be therapists provided to a cluster of schools to provide supports there. The school inclusion model is something I admired, and I think the Minister of State did as well. It was piloted in CHO 7 in schools in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. Talking to the NCSE yesterday, I heard that it has expanded that into the mid-west, into the Limerick area. It is something we should look to expand countrywide.At the moment, the NCSE can only employ up to 39 therapists. It is recruiting 39 therapists but it needs to recruit more and it needs to put more resources into that model. Based on the pilot programme, it stated that the therapists worked so well there was less need for community-based therapy, where it was available, that the students were doing much better in school and that staff were also learning from the therapists and were able to help their students. It is the model we need to follow.

We still have a situation where some schools are being built and others are being granted extensions with no provision for special classes, which is another issue that needs to be addressed. Some schools are reluctant to have a special classes on site and are using every excuse in the book. On the other hand, it is positive that more and more schools are reaching out to the NCSE to say they want a special class in the school. I know a number are anxious to know if they will be sanctioned for this year so they can begin their preparations. While that is welcome, every school should be willing to step up and provide the extra support where needed.

A special school has been sanctioned for Monaghan and is due to open in late August or September. However, there is only capacity for 18 students on the current site. The site is inappropriate on a number of levels, as I mentioned previously to the Minister of State. With the utmost urgency, so as not to delay the progress of the school, we need to look for a much more suitable site.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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When is it proposed to sit again?

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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At 9.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.