Written Answers Nos. 245-258
245. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the case of a student (details supplied); if school transport can be urgently sought in this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50865/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Over 134,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
A number of difficulties have arisen in some localities involving a number of contracted services, including a number of services in the Wicklow area.
Bus Éireann is working intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible. The School Transport team is continuing to prioritise arrangements to ensure transport can be sourced and put in place as soon as possible.
In situations where a ticket has issued and a service was not in place on 1 September 2023, and until such time as a service is in place, an Exceptional No Service Interim Grant will be made available to families retrospectively to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements they have to put in place until services begin. This payment will be paid as an exceptional measure and will be calculated from the date the service was due to commence. As the payment is based on the number of days a child attends school up until the time a service has commenced it cannot be paid in advance.
Bus Éireann is providing those affected by the contractor/driver issues with regular updates on the status of their transport service. However, please be advised that Bus Éireann has put in place a dedicated customer care call centre and a ‘contact form’ on their website (buseireann.ie/schooltransport) to assist families specifically with School Transport queries. Families that have queries can contact the call centre on: LoCall 0818 919 910. Operating hours are 09.00 – 17.00 Monday to Friday.
Bus Éireann has advised that they have tendered for a service to accommodate the pupil in question, and once a suitable contractor has been appointed, Bus Éireann will contact the parent directly.
246. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education if she will consider introducing an additional allowance for primary and secondary school teachers who work in city centre environments and face added, often unsustainable, living costs as a result; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50874/23]
View answerThe Government is aware of the impacts of rising prices but these are a source of concern for society in general, of course, not just teachers or other staff in the education sector. As the current cost pressures are not unique to any one sector, a measure such as that referred to by the Deputy could not fairly be explored for any one group of workers. Any allowance like that proposed therefore, can occur only under central processes and any specific proposals would need to be considered in detail by my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform, and the relevant unions as amendments to alter the allowances paid to public servants give rise to significant cost issues.
Pay and workplace reform measures for public servants have been governed by a framework of public service pay agreements for a number of years with the current agreement “Building Momentum” in place until the end of 2023. The value of public pay deals to the Government and the taxpayer is ensuring that pay costs are managed in a sustainable and orderly way and in a climate of industrial peace. The extension to Building Momentum provides for further increases of 6.5% to October 2023 (for a total of 8.5% to 9.5% over the entire agreement) for over 100,000 staff in the school sector as well as retired staff. In terms of teacher pay specifically, since October, a teacher on point 1 of the scale would earn a minimum of €41,390, an increase of more than €10,000 per annum since 2012. A teacher on the top point at least €77,000.
247. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Education if school transport will be provided between schools (details supplied); the current position in relation to the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50888/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Over 134,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
Bus Éireann has advised that the service referred to by the Deputy is currently in the procurement process and once a suitable contractor/driver is sourced transport will commence. Bus Éireann will contact families directly.
248. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the number of contracts her Department has had with a company (details supplied) in the years of 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; the services this company has provided to her Department in the years in question; and the amount her Department has paid for such services in each of those years, in tabular form. [50927/23]
View answerThere are no contracts in place for the time period listed - Nil return
249. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education when the successful schools will be informed if they are to receive works to be carried out under the summer works scheme in 2024. [50928/23]
View answerAs you may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The SWS operates on a multi-annual basis and was last opened for applications in 2019.
The Department is leading an ambitious sustainability agenda and has progressed a wide array of measures to improve the overall sustainability of our school buildings. It is a priority for Government to deliver on Ireland’s ambitious climate agenda and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes targets around the decarbonisation of Ireland’s public buildings.
As part of it’s planning for 2023 and beyond, Department officials are working on the arrangements for the next phases of the summer works programme. It is envisaged at this stage that, a new Multi-Annual SWS with a focus on climate action and energy conservation will be opened for new applications in early 2024. Schools will be notified of the details of the SWS in due course.
250. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to annual running cost estimates for pathfinder schools (details supplied); if this shortfall will be supplemented by her Department; if repair and upkeep of infrastructure related to retrofit projects is under consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50953/23]
View answerMy Department has a strong record with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both national and international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification.
My Department’s approach to the decarbonisation of the school sector is predicated on establishing a credible phased pathway to zero emissions, and meeting 2030 public sector targets through an evidence based approach, informed by the Department’s Energy Research Programme which has been in place from 1997 with over 54 different research strands.
There has been a strong early focus on energy efficiency in the school sector. In 2009 my Department provided 100% funding for a school sector insulation scheme and in 2010 a water conservation programme.
Since 2009, schools designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents have achieved A3 Building Energy Ratings.
Current schools typically achieve up to 20% higher energy performance and 25% better carbon performance than required by Building Regulations.
In addition, 10% of primary energy in these schools is provided via solar photovoltaic panels. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is also provided.
My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications have developed a jointly funded school sector decarbonisation pathfinder programme. It is administered by the Planning and Building Unit in my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in partnership with devolved delivery support from Limerick Clare Education and Training Board and Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board.
This pathfinder is a great example of collaboration, ensuring the deployment of new design approaches and technologies are introduced to the school sector on an evidence based approach. This programme continues to assist my Department to explore options and test various solutions for decarbonised energy efficiency solutions in our broad range of school building types.
Each school undergoes a comprehensive assessment to ensure that the retrofit measures are suitable for that school, will deliver value to both the school and learnings for the national retrofit programme, and will not create an undue burden to the school in relation to upkeep of infrastructure related to the retrofit projects.
The works typically involves upgrades to the building fabric including wall and roof insulation, doors and windows, air tightness improvements, LED lighting and heating upgrades as well as renewable technologies. A Building Energy Rating (BER) of B is the targeted energy rating for these schools.
This pathfinder programme has completed work to date in 53 schools across Ireland. Work is progressing in an additional 11 schools.
The budget for the pathfinder programme of works from 2017 to 2023 is circa €110 million. The 2023/24 Pathfinder has a targeted budget of €50 million.
The details supplied with this question have been confirmed to the Department as preliminary information presented to the school at a recent meeting. This has been clarified during follow up engagement with the school. A more refined detailed analysis is to be shared at a prearranged meeting with the School Board of Management this week. This data will indicate to the school that the developed design and project delivery will have a positive effect on the existing running costs of the school.
251. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education the position regarding energy storage batteries being included as part of solar installations under the pathfinder retrofitting schools' projects; if this can be considered in conjunction with a scheme that would allow potential excess energy feedback to the grid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50954/23]
View answerMy Department has a strong record with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both national and international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in Design and Specification.
My Department’s approach to the decarbonisation of the school sector is predicated on establishing a credible phased pathway to zero emissions, and meeting 2030 public sector targets through an evidence based approach, informed by the Department’s Energy Research Programme which has been in place from 1997 with fifty four different research strands.
Schools designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents, have been achieving A3 Building Energy Ratings since 2009, with current schools typically achieving up to 20% higher energy performance and 25% better carbon performance than required by the current Building Regulations. In addition, 10% of energy is provided via photovoltaics (PV) and infrastructure is provided for electric vehicle charging.
As part of our overall approach to sustainability in the school estate, it is intended that 6 kilowatt solar PV panels will be provided to schools, funded from the Climate Action Fund, which is under the remit of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
This is really positive news for our schools and will assist with their energy needs and costs along with supporting the decarbonisation of our school buildings.
The programme will fund up to 6kW of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels. Connection to the grid will be included, to allow unused solar energy to feed to the grid when schools are closed. This will enable schools to approach their suppliers for compensation for exports to the grid.
Monitoring software will also be provided to each school, to allow review and discussion of the energy generated each day for staff and students.
The parameters of the Schools PV Scheme have been agreed with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and further detail will be announced shortly. However, I can confirm that battery storage is not included in the scope of the School PV Programme.
Battery storage is a more complex way of storing any potential exported electric energy. A battery on the system means the battery will charge when the PV system is generating electricity which isn’t being used or exported, and then discharge when needed, normally that evening/night.
While a battery can increase the percentage of solar PV electricity used in a domestic situation, it is not viewed as suitable for schools at this time due to school operating hours. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that schools’ PV systems can export to the grid and that schools can be compensated for same by their electricity supplier.
252. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the case of a school (details supplied) which, until the end of last term, had a 20-seater bus servicing the school, a school with a capacity of sixty students, this service has now been stopped without explanation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50963/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Over 134,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
Bus Éireann, have advised that they issued tickets for school transport on bus services that had been secured for the 2023/24 school year. A number of difficulties have arisen in having services in place for the start of the new school year in some localities with a small number of contracted services.
Bus Éireann continues to work intensively and every effort is being made to ensure transport can be sourced and put in place as soon as possible for the service the Deputy refers to.
The Department has sanctioned an interim arrangement to assist with the cost of alternative arrangements until services are in place.
The Exceptional No Service Interim Grant will be made available to families retrospectively. This payment will be paid as an exceptional measure and will be calculated from the date the service was due to commence up to the date that a service is provided for children.
Details of this grant have issued to families via e-mail.
Bus Éireann has a dedicated customer care call centre to assist families specifically with School Transport queries. Families that have queries can contact the call centre on: LoCall 0818 919 910. Operating hours are usually 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Families can also submit queries via the 'contact form' which can be found on their website buseireann.ie/schooltransport .
253. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education when the next minor works grant payment will issue to schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50964/23]
View answerThe Department recognises the importance of the Minor Works Grant to primary schools. The funding provides good flexibility at local level to assist schools to manage and undertake works that support the operation of the school.
The Minor Works Grant for primary schools for the current school year 2023/2024 was paid in April 2023. This funding provides schools with a good lead in period to plan and undertake works that will support the operation of schools going into the 2023/24 school year.
Schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.
The works that can be undertaken under minor works scheme include maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds, improvement or replacement of mechanical and electrical services, the purchase of standard furniture and physical education equipment, the purchase of floor coverings and window blinds, the purchase of IT related equipment, ventilation improvements, and enhancements to outdoor learning environments.
A total of €310 million in Minor Works Grants and Enhanced Minor Works Grants has been allocated to schools between 2018 and 2023.
The Department's Planning & Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2024 in the context of its available funding. The timeline for the payment of the next tranche of minor grant funding to primary schools will be considered within this overall context.
254. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education if provision will be made for an oral examination to be introduced as part of the Leaving Certificate qualification in Arabic at both ordinary and higher level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50969/23]
View answerIn March 2022, I announced ambitious plans for a reimagined Senior Cycle of education for post-primary students – Equity and Excellence for All: where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience.
The redeveloped Senior Cycle will enable students to follow a broad curriculum, develop their interests and skills and participate in a final assessment process consistent with international best practice, which will support them in their next phase of life whether that is third level, further education and training, apprenticeships, or the world of work.
In September 2023, I announced a significant acceleration of the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme enabling over 120,000 additional Leaving Certificate students to experience the benefits of Senior Cycle Redevelopment sooner than otherwise would have been the case.
Thanks to this acceleration, in September 2025, students will now be able to benefit from the fast-tracked national rollout of new subject curricula in Tranche One, which includes Arabic. These revised subjects will incorporate additional assessment components outside of traditional written exams, to be worth at least 40% of the available marks, and externally assessed by the State Examinations Commission.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)’s Arabic development group is one of many subject development groups in place that are progressing the new specifications for these subjects. I expect that the draft specification for Arabic will be published for consultation shortly.
I am committed to the introduction of comprehensive revised assessment methods and approaches in Senior Cycle Redevelopment.
255. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education the reason a small rural school in County Dublin would have no feeder secondary school assigned (details supplied), which in turn leaves students at a disadvantage in securing a school place in an area that has a shortage of school places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50974/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy in relation to enrolment generally, it is my Department's responsibility to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area. Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted.
It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to prioritise enrolment of children from particular areas or particular age groups or on the basis of some other criterion, including giving priority to applicants who have attended a particular primary school known as a feeder school. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves.
The selection process used by schools and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, it may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in their school of first choice.
The Educational Welfare Services (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers (EWO). Contact details are available at www.tusla.ie/get-in-touch/education-and-welfare/
As the Deputy will be aware, the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 was signed into law by the President on the 18th July 2018.
The overall objective of the Act is to provide a new framework for school enrolment that is designed to ensure that every child is treated fairly and that the way in which schools decide on applications for admission is structured, fair and transparent.
256. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education if she will include a primary school (details supplied) for DEIS status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50977/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes in the region of 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. 1 in 4 students and 30% of schools are now supported in the programme.
This expansion added an additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for the programme to €180million.
Schools that were identified for inclusion in the programme were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model was applied fairly and equally to all schools.
The DEIS Identification process is based on the principle of concentrated disadvantage and the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school. The DEIS identification model aimed to identify those schools with the highest levels of disadvantage or the highest proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school using the school’s enrolment data and national census data as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation index which is publicly available.
A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie. In accordance with Circular 0019/22 schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS identification model to their school enrolment data were provided with the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. The DEIS appeals process was applied fairly across all appellants, the window for appeals has now closed and the results are final. My Department will continue to support schools to deliver high quality, inclusive teaching and learning to students and young learners.
The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools. Since June 2020, and over the past four budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard.
My Department recognises the need to target resources to those schools who need them most, the next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to all schools to tackle educational disadvantage.
The DEIS Plan is based on the premise that in order to have the maximum possible impact on providing opportunities for students most at risk of educational disadvantage, then extra resources need to be targeted as closely as possible at those students with the greatest level of need. This will involve further development of the existing DEIS programme, to create a more dynamic resource allocation model where levels of resources more accurately follow the levels of need identified by objective data.
To support this work my Department has invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland, this is currently ongoing and the OECD team estimate that the review will be complete in Q2 of 2024. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS.
In addition to this, following the National Census conducted in April 2022, an updated HP Deprivation index has now been generated by Pobal. My Department is engaging with Pobal regarding this development and it will be thoroughly reviewed to inform future resource allocation aimed at tackling educational disadvantage.
257. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education the current status of grants that are outstanding to a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50997/23]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, general up-keep etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities.
In addition to these grants, €20 million in funding was delivered during the mid-term break, to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This funding is the first tranche of an overall additional €60 million funding announced as part of Budget 2024 measures designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. A further €40 million in funding will be delivered in 2024.
Following the acceptance by Forsa of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement in respect of salaries and various leave entitlements for grant-funded school secretaries, those secretaries who accepted the terms of this agreement have been placed on a payroll operated by this Department. Therefore, as schools will no longer be responsible for paying the salaries of these secretaries, it is necessary to revise the ancillary grant funding. The priority to date has been to ensure secretaries could be set up on a Department payroll on the correct point on the pay scale from September 2023. This represented a very significant body of work, given the numbers involved.
Schools have received 2/3rds of the Ancillary Grant payable in 2023, and the Department is working to ensure the arrangements for the payment of remaining ancillary grant funding to schools are finalised so that funds due to schools can be paid as soon as possible.
In relation to the annual school grants calendar recently published on gov.ie/schoolgrantscalendar2324 , this does not include any unscheduled payments/grants, such as the recent Cost of Living Grant, that occur from year to year.
The Minor Works Grant for primary schools for the current school year 2023/2024 was paid in April 2023. This funding provides schools with a good lead in period to plan and undertake works that will support the operation of schools going into the 2023/24 school year.
Schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.
The works that can be undertaken under minor works scheme include maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds, improvement or replacement of mechanical and electrical services, the purchase of standard furniture and physical education equipment, the purchase of floor coverings and window blinds, the purchase of IT related equipment, ventilation improvements, and enhancements to outdoor learning environments.
258. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education the status of an application made by a family to a school (details supplied); the options open to the parents when medical need is noted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51004/23]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education. Further progress has been made in Budget 2024 where 26% of my department’s budget will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs, representing a 5% increase on Budget 2023.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs and in 2024 a further 744 teachers, and 1,216 SNAs will be added to deliver up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs. This will mean we will have over 41,500 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the provision of speech and language therapy services for all children who qualify for such therapy support. This can be provided either in a school, or more usually, through HSE disability services or primary care services.
Students with a specific speech and language disorder may also need to be referred to the HSE’s Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT’s).
School age children that require speech and language therapy, may qualify for additional educational support, however the provision of speech and language therapy services is the responsibility of the HSE.
The Department of Health have confirmed that applications for services provided by the CDNT’s would be a matter for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
