Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
54. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education to provide a breakdown of the Budget 2024 allocation of €4 million for additional supports for special schools between capital and revenue spent; and what are the planned areas for investment. [45129/23]
View answerOur schools continue to put inclusion at the heart of everything we do, and I strongly believe that it is the role of Government to support them in this by ensuring that schools have the necessary resources.
The provision of education for children with special needs is an ongoing priority for the Government and my main focus, as the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion.
The provision of appropriate resources for children, schools, school staff, parents, and the organisations that support these children, is an essential element for the continuous development of education services for children with special needs and to improve their educational outcomes.
Through my many visits to schools, I have seen at first hand the unique complexities of running a special school where there is a significant administrative burden. In order to assist special schools in the effective management of their schools, Budget 2024 provides €2 million to allow for the removal of the threshold for administrative deputy principals enabling an admin support provision in every special school who cater for children with special needs. This measure requires the recruitment of an additional 89 teaching posts.
Budget 2024 also provides an opportunity to support special schools who cater for children aged from 4 to 18 years of age with special education needs. €2 million is being provided to enable the recruitment of 100 additional post-primary teachers in these Special Schools which will allow them to deliver a greater range of the national curriculum subjects and to improve student progression and transition.
The Special School package of €4 million funding will ensure that these two Special Schools measures will be in place from September 2024 and will directly benefit over 9,000 children in these schools. These measures have a full year cost of €11 million.
Special schools will also benefit from the increase in capitation funding which is being made to all schools in Budget 2024.
