Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 7 Dec 2023

Vol. 1047 No. 3

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to raise this issue. The SENO, or special educational needs organiser, plays a vital role in the provision of special education or education for additional needs. They have done tremendous work in working with boards of management, school authorities and with families throughout the country.

Over the recent while, I have noticed from my engagement at both constituency level and nationally with the disability matters committee that there are vacancies around the country for SENOs. This is a vital cog in the provision of special education. It is challenging for families and schools when they are trying to make provision and integrate kids into mainstream or special schools to get the necessary resources. There is a long process with regard to assessment of need and all the other traumatic steps that parents have to take to try to get the possible education service for their kids. There is no doubt but that there is great work going on within the school communities, with the teachers and SNAs, and from my own experience they are superb human beings. They go absolutely above and beyond the call of duty.

We then get feedback with regard to people trying to engage to get further resources, be it resource teaching or special needs assistants, into the school. It may be that the initial information or request that was sent in to the special needs council for additional help may have changed. The dynamics or the need within the classroom may have changed. This is particularly the case during school terms, when the school authorities are reaching out to the SENO to get guidance or information or to put a case together to go to the Department to get special resources. What we have seen is that the positions of SENOs are not filled throughout the country.

First, I ask whether we can get the figures and facts on the matter and to ensure that it is taken very seriously. As I said, special needs co-ordinators are the most vital cog in reaching out between the parent, the family, the child, the school authority and the Department for resources. This is a hugely important enabler for those people.

I have been in discussions with a number of school authorities over the last while. They said there was no SENO working at the moment and that they are relying on SENOs from different areas to cover the vacancies. That is simply not acceptable. In this day and age, all of us want to make sure that every instrument of the State is available to ensure the best outcomes for kids with additional needs right through the school and education cycle. I ask the Minister of State to give us an update on the existing vacancies and I will come back to it in a few moments, if that is okay with the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach.

Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Joe O'Brien)

I thank the Deputy for his question and I am pleased to take this opportunity on behalf of the Department of Education to assure him and this House that not only will all vacant SENO posts across the country be filled but there will be a significant increase in the number of SENOs employed by the NCSE in the very near future. A nationwide competition for the recruitment of SENOs was advertised in October 2023 with a closing date of 2 November for receipt of applications, and it has had huge interest.

At present, the NCSE advises the Department of Education that three SENO posts are vacant nationwide out of a staffing complement of 73 SENOs. There is a recruitment drive for SENOs under way and the NCSE is also undertaking a strategic review of the organisation. This will see an improvement in how front-line staff are allocated to best meet the needs of children and the schools they attend.

As a result of the significant increase in funding that this Government provided to the NCSE in budget 2023, the NCSE is now undergoing an expansion that will see a 50% increase in the number of staff employed. A huge focus of the increase in staff will be on front-line services and this will see SENO numbers increased by at least an additional 43 staff.

The Department of Education acknowledges the challenges for children, their families and schools that can arise as a result of vacancies in the NCSE, and while the NCSE has always worked to mitigate these challenges, they have been further exacerbated by a significant growth in the need for NCSE services in recent years. At present, each of the 73 SENOs is responsible for approximately 342 children with the most complex needs and for engaging with 55 schools on average. In certain areas, particularly if there was intensive engagement on school placements or exceptional reviews, this could mean multiple visits to a very small numbers of schools.

It was a priority for the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, Deputy Madigan, that the NCSE should expand and develop its services to meet the needs of children with special educational needs in a responsive and child-centred way. That is why we are investing an additional €13 million for the recruitment of up to 161 additional staff into the organisation, including increasing our SENO numbers to 116. It was very important that the NCSE plans effectively for this expansion and for that reason it has undertaken a significant organisational development review over the past 12 months. The Department of Education is pleased to say this will be ready to roll out from January 2024.

The NCSE has undertaken a significant process of engagement with both internal and external stakeholders in the context of the organisational design process. It was critical that the NCSE took this opportunity to evaluate its structure, operating model and resource requirements to deliver on its strategic objectives and be responsive to the needs of students, parents and schools.

As part of the organisational design, the NCSE has identified key drivers in demand for services, underpinned by a robust analysis of data gathered over the last five years. This will ensure that the NCSE can best match current and future resources to specific areas of need on an individual county basis, and that the NCSE will have a working model to project areas of future need so it can respond to and anticipate changing circumstances to meet the needs of children, their families and schools as they arise. In addition, the new detailed organisational design will significantly change the structure of the organisation, including a doubling of the number of regional teams, all of which will contain SENOs and advisers.

The Department of Education is pleased to report that there was a substantial response to the SENO competition I mentioned earlier and it is currently moving through the various selection stages. It is intended that the intake from this recruitment campaign will commence in January, and the new staff will be assigned to fill the small number of existing vacancies and to take up the new positions created as part of the NCSE expansion.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank the Minister of State for putting the facts on record. I welcome the additional SENO posts; it is not before time. It is needed because the SENOs are stretched to the limit. There is no merit in a further reply. I thank the Minister of State for putting on record that the vacancies will be filled. I will come back to the issue in February if what was outlined does not come to pass on the ground. I appreciate him putting on record the improvement we expect to see in January.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Verona Murphy)

I take it the Deputy does not need a reply?

Deputy Michael Moynihan

Yes.

School Facilities

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Verona Murphy)

We will now move to Deputy Cannon. The question is to discuss the urgent need for an indoor sports facility at Seamount College in Kinvara, County Galway. It is the home of Karen Weekes, is that correct?

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

That is correct.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Verona Murphy)

She is some woman.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

She is an extraordinary woman and athlete. I thank the Minister of State for being here to listen to the powerful case I want to make for the provision of an indoor sports hall for Seamount College, a superb school in the heart of Kinvara. It is embedded in the life of the Kinvara community and south Galway. It is difficult to understand why a school that will approach enrolment of approximately 700 students next September does not have an indoor space for physical activity. In addition, it has no indoor space where the whole school community can assemble for any reason. When trying to build cohesion and a sense of solidarity in any community, be it a school or otherwise, the opportunity to get together, meet, socialise and engage is important, particularly in those formative years. We all remember those years as teenagers and how important that was. I and the school management, principal, board of management and school team have repeatedly made the case that it is unacceptable in the early 21st century for a post-primary school to operate without access to an on-site indoor sports facility.

I have engaged with the Department of Education on numerous occasions. In the first chapter of that engagement, I was told repeatedly by the Department and its officials in the building unit in Tullamore that the priority was - this line may even be in the Minister of State's reply - to build classrooms and that was where funding allocations and resources was going. It was not the policy of the Department to provide sports halls for existing schools, even if they were undergoing significant renovations. I am grateful to the Department and the people in Tullamore for the investment they are making in classrooms, science laboratories and staffroom facilities. There is a huge construction project under way in Seamount as we speak. Unfortunately, it does not include a sports hall. When I asked why that was, I was told it was the policy of the Department not to do so as part of the refurbishment or ongoing renovation of schools. I knew that not to be the case because just 10 km away in another excellent school, Gort Community School, an extension and renovations are under way. Some 44 classrooms will be provided along with a new sports hall, which is welcome and most deserved in Gort. About 20 km away in Loughrea in St. Raphael's College, there was another investment recently in new classrooms and a new sports hall. I tabled a parliamentary question asking simply how many schools had also been allocated a sports hall provision as part of the renovation and extension of normal school accommodation. The answer was 21. This has been done 21 times in the past five years, yet, for some strange reason, Seamount College in Kinvara seems to have been excluded from this process.

There is another issue, on which I will expand further when I reply again, around the provision of special education. The NCSE recently requested that Seamount College respond to a dearth of autism provision in south Galway by developing two ASD units, which the board of management and school community are more than willing to do. However, they are unwilling to do so and subject the children who would be part of those units and their current school cohort to a situation in which, if they were accommodated, thery would not have any indoor place for physical exercise.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

On behalf of the Minister for Education, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the position concerning the Department of Education’s plans and specifically regarding the application for a PE Hall at Seamount College, Kinvara, County Galway. The Deputy may be aware that Seamount College is a mixed Catholic secondary school in the town of Kinvara. The school had an enrolment in September 2022 of 608 pupils and in September 2023 of 620 pupils. The school is located in the Kinvara school planning area and there are currently six primary schools and one post-primary school in this school planning area. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that a building project for the provision of 12 general classrooms, one technology room and preparation area, two home economics rooms, one art and craft room, one science laboratory and preparation area and one staff room, along with an assisted-user WC is currently at construction stage. The school submitted a further additional school accommodation application to the Department of Education in May 2023, requesting funding for the reconfiguration of existing accommodation for special education classes, a soft play area, a PE hall and changing facilities. The purpose of the additional school accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or by available accommodation at other schools in the area. A request for a PE hall does not come within the remit of the additional school accommodation scheme. Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested approximately €3.5 billion in schools throughout the country, involving the completion of more than 690 school building projects and construction under way in approximately 300 other projects. School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of more than €1.2 billion. There are also 200 modular accommodation projects which are well advanced for delivery or at construction stage. This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government’s strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for school communities.

A future strengthened focus on refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands. It will include a PE build and modernisation programme which will enable students in post-primary schools to have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision, particularly in the context of the roll-out of PE as a leaving certificate subject. Enhanced and modernised PE facilities will also provide important amenities for local communities. However, the main focus of the Department’s capital funding over the past decade and for the coming period is on the provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics and children with special education needs. The Department is required to manage the overall school building programme so that we target and prioritise the areas under greatest pressure for additional school places. This reflects the Department’s fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.

The overall position with regard to potential modernisation and replacement of existing school infrastructure will be kept under review as capital funding allocations for future years are clarified. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform will engage with Departments on national development plan allocations for 2026 to 2028 over the coming months, with allocation decisions expected in the first half of 2024. With respect to special education, the Department works closely with the NCSE on forward planning for increased special education provision in the form of additional special classes and special school places. This close engagement with the NCSE involves strategic planning to ensure that existing accommodation capacity, where it exists, is utilised and maximised in the context of providing new special classes. It also facilitates the identification of required accommodation solutions where additional capacity is required. Officials in the Department of Education have been engaging with Seamount College regarding its application for additional accommodation and will continue to liaise with the school and the NCSE regarding any requirements for accommodation for children with special educational needs.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

I do not take issue with the Minister of State but it is as I expected from the Department. It said a request for a PE hall does not come within the remit of the additional school accommodation scheme, yet it did this 21 times in 21 other schools and in a school just 10 km away from Seamount. Why it decided to single out Seamount for special treatment in denying it this facility is a mystery to me.

I will not relent until I get to the bottom of this. It is deeply unjust. It is limiting the school's capacity to deliver the full curriculum.

The Minister of State rightly mentioned the importance of the PE curriculum. In 2022, the World Health Organization, WHO, described Ireland as having reached epidemic levels of obesity. One in three of our schoolchildren is obese. The National Children's Research Centre tells us all of these obese children are at higher risk of developing comorbidity diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer later in life. Here we have a school that is ready to deliver the PE curriculum to the fullest extent but it does not have the facilities to do so. In addition, it is being requested - implored, one might argue - by the NCSE to develop two ASD units because of the vacuum in post-primary provision across south County Galway. We have two excellent primary level ASD units in Ballinderreen and in St. Joseph's National School, Kinvara. Children in Kinvara are approximately 100 m from Seamount and children in Ballinderreen are between 4 km and 5 km from it. Without Seamount, those children have nowhere to go to access ASD provision when they reach sixth class. The board of management rightly points out that it would be irresponsible of them to provide for children with autism in its school when it does not have an indoor physical activity space available for them. Again, I ask the Minister of State to engage with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and impress upon her the urgency and need for this facility to be provided in the shortest possible timeframe.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I will not go through the answer again. There is obviously significant construction planned for the school, including special needs education rooms. I do not understand the situation described by the Deputy, nor can I can pretend to. There may be reasons for it. There may be particularities around the site or the school that I am not aware of. However, I commit to raising the matter directly with the Minister.

Flood Risk Management

Deputy Denis Naughten

I formally express my deep dissatisfaction at the absence tonight of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. In fairness, the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, who is familiar with the issues, informed me of his unavailability. However, not one of the other two Ministers in that Department has attended this evening. Such absences are becoming a worrying trend in this Government. Two weeks ago, when I tabled a motion discussing the struggles of farmers in the Shannon Callows, none of the three agriculture Ministers was available to take the matter either. It is totally unacceptable that six Ministers across two Departments are absent for discussions on urgent matters regarding the impact of flooding in south County Roscommon. I would ordinarily insist on postponing this debate, but the communities around the Shannon Callows and Lough Funshinagh cannot afford to wait. Today, Lough Funshinagh's water level is 330 mm higher than on this day in 2020. Later that winter, the village of Ballagh nearly flooded. The community around Lough Funshinagh and the Shannon Callows faces anxiety with each weather report predicting rain.

Four years ago, €7 million was allocated by the then Minister of State, Kevin "Boxer" Moran, to alleviate flooding on the River Shannon between Meelick Weir and Athlone by removing a number of pinch points that were impeding the flow of the river and leading to the retention of waters north of Lough Derg. We are still awaiting the appointment of an ecological consultant to commence the necessary environmental study. The people of the Shannon Callows cannot wait indefinitely. Last year, the ongoing issue of Lough Funshinagh reached a critical point and the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, approved funding for a new planning process.

However, as of last month, while surveys and investigations have advanced, according to a Dáil reply that I received, difficulties in procuring environmental consultancy services due to market conditions have stalled progress. Some surveys are under way, but we still await the formal appointment of consultants to progress this project to the planning stage. The Lough Funshinagh overflow pipe and the Shannon Callows excavation require complex environmental assessments, but progress is being hindered without the necessary expertise. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, attributes this to market conditions, which favour private projects with deeper pockets and simpler assessment. As a consequence, communities across south County Roscommon live in fear of the next rainfall warning. Funding is not an issue, as the OPW has a €1.3 billion budget for approximately 100 flood projects. The inability to source environmental experts puts more than 10,000 Irish families at risk due to delays in flood plan implementation, as seen at Lough Funshinagh and on the Shannon Callows. The main delays include protracted waits for planning permission, which we now hope will be addressed with the forthcoming planning Bill. However, the projects at Lough Funshinagh and the Shannon Callows are not even at that stage, as is the case with many more similar projects. We urgently need surveyors and specialised staff to design effective schemes. The ecological complexities often require detailed analysis to comply with both EU and national environmental laws.

I propose that the Office of Public Works directly employ key environmental personnel for flood relief projects like those at Lough Funshinagh and the Shannon Callows. In addition, we should reach out to experienced professionals who emigrated during the recession and have since gained valuable experience abroad. Offering permanent contracts within the OPW would address their concerns about job stability and tenure and signal the Government is committed to delivering these projects.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. I am aware that the risk of flooding has a significant impact on communities. I am also aware of the distress flooding can cause to people and the impact it can have on their homes, businesses and farms. In 2018, the OPW completed the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State, the catchment flood risk assessment management, CFRAM, study, to establish which communities are at risk from significant flood events. This provided the roadmap for the delivery of Government investment in flood relief schemes.

Flood relief schemes are the primary means of protecting cities, towns and villages from flooding. Outside of the major flood relief schemes, local flooding issues are being addressed by local authorities with the support of the OPW under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme. This scheme provides funding for minor flood mitigation works or studies, costing less than €750,000 each, to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems. Funding for up to 90% of the cost is available for approved projects. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short timeframe. To date, the OPW has approved funding under the scheme of more than €40 million for some 700 projects for the Shannon river basin district.

On the issue of Lough Funshinagh, local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each local authority to investigate and address. All local authorities, including Roscommon County Council, may carry out flood mitigation works within their capital works programme and using their own resources or by applying for funding under the OPW’s minor flood mitigation works scheme. Roscommon County Council is leading the response to the flooding risk at Lough Funshinagh. Under the direction of the Minister of State, Deputy O’ Donovan, senior officials from the OPW met officials from Roscommon County Council during 2022, focusing on identifying possible approaches to a viable solution to manage flood risk at Lough Funshinagh. In December 2022, Roscommon County Council and the OPW agreed to establish an expert working group to support and help to identify the pathway to a means of progressing a viable solution. The membership of this expert working group includes cross-departmental and agency representation. The initial work of the expert group was to scope out the requirements for a commission to undertake the necessary surveys and investigations. This work is being informed by an OPW review of the evidence and research on the nature and functioning of Lough Funshinagh. The brief for the necessary surveys and investigations required has been progressed, but due to current market conditions there has been difficulty procuring these services. A steering group led by the council, with representation from the OPW, oversees the work to identify a viable solution to manage the flooding risk at Lough Funshinagh. The steering group has been meeting regularly to discuss progression of the necessary surveys and investigations and the estimated timelines to progress to implementation.

On the Shannon Callows, there are currently 13 completed schemes on the Shannon river basin district and these schemes are already providing protection to more than 2,600 properties. These completed schemes entailed a total investment of €71.9 million. A further 38 flood relief schemes will be progressed in the Shannon catchment as part of the Government’s €1.3 billion investment in flood relief measures over the lifetime of the national development plan to 2030. The OPW and local authorities are working together to advance 26 of these schemes, including schemes at Athlone and Springfield that are currently at construction stage.

The total funding commitment in respect of these 26 schemes is more than €240 million. The remaining 12 projects will commence during the lifetime of the NDP. When completed, the schemes will protect 95% of properties identified as being at significant risk from flooding in the Shannon river basin district.

For all flood relief schemes, including those in the Shannon river basin district, designing a technical solution, ensuring a robust approach to environmental assessments, and fulfilling other regulatory requirements are essential to informing the best scheme and reducing the risk of challenges to a proposed scheme. By meeting such requirements as an EIA report, appropriate assessment screening or Natura impact statement, the likely effects of each scheme on the environment are fully considered, such that any impacts can be appropriately mitigated and the integrity of European designated sites is not adversely affected.

Deputy Denis Naughten

Now we see the reason for my frustration that there is not a Minister or Minister from State from the relevant Department here to respond. The points I raised have not been addressed, which is not the fault of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien.

A further point that needs to be addressed along with the staffing issue is the significant hurdle that presents in the form of the environmental regulations, which are a kind of black box that complicates project implementation. Currently, pending judicial interpretations, our understanding and application of EU and national environmental laws are mired in uncertainty. This lack of clarity is not only inadequate, it also deters environmental consultants from engaging with the complex assessments required for projects like those at Lough Funshinagh and the Shannon Callows. The ambiguity surrounding these environmental laws hampers our ability to move forward.

We urgently need definitive interpretations of these complex regulations. Therefore, I am urging the Government to instruct the Law Reform Commission to conduct a thorough review of all environmental legislation applicable in Ireland. The aim should be to revise and clarify these laws, eliminating any ambiguities. Across organisations like the EPA, the Heritage Council, local authorities and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, we need to know what is and is not acceptable. Such a reform would not only streamline the environmental aspects of project design but would also safeguard our communities and natural landscapes. It would facilitate the swift advancement of crucial projects, particularly those aimed at protecting homes in areas like south Roscommon that are currently at risk of being washed away. This clarity in environmental legislation is imperative for efficient, effective and timely project implementation, thereby ensuring both environmental integrity and the safety of our communities.

I ask the Minister of State to do one thing for me. Will he convey what I have said on the record this evening to the relevant Minister of State and ask that I be given a substantive response on these specific issues?

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I certainly will do so. The Deputy has made some very clear points and suggestions, which I will convey to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan.

I will read out the information I have on the Shannon Callows as it may be of interest and use to the Deputy. I understand a tender will issue in January for an ecological consultant to carry out a high-level environmental study. The study will consider the possible impacts of the excavation of material at key locations in the Shannon river channel, the longer term maintenance of the riverbed and changes in water levels. The Shannon flood risk State agency co-ordination group last met on 11 October, when it discussed a range of issues relating to work under way to assist with flood risk management along the River Shannon, including the pinch points project.

School Enrolments

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I very much appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, being here to read the response on behalf of the Minister for Education. However, it might be worthwhile for the Acting Chairperson to discuss with the Ceann Comhairle a review of how many Ministers and Ministers of State are turning up for Topical Issue debates that are relevant to their remit. I am always conscious when I make this point that I do not mean it to be disrespectful to the person who has actually turned up for the debate. I very much appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, is here. However, there is a pattern in this regard and it is not something I experienced in the previous Dáil. I ask An Chathaoirleach Gníomhach to raise the matter with the Ceann Comhairle.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Verona Murphy)

I will carry that message back to the Ceann Comhairle on behalf of both Deputies O'Reilly and Naughten.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I raise an issue I have discussed at least once if not twice a year in the nearly eight years since I was elected to the Dáil. I represent a very young constituency, as does the Minister of State, with a fast-growing and expanding population. Every single year, we have a situation whereby parents are left scrambling for school places. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of the Skerries community response to the education shortage in town, CREST, group, which was established four years ago to lobby for much-needed additional school places in Skerries. Our town is expanding. Apparently, the Minister of State and his ministerial colleagues were delighted when an extension was announced for one of the schools in the area, as I saw on social media. People were very pleased this announcement had been made. Unfortunately, it was only announced. Four years on, we have a situation whereby there will be 180 children in the next intake, following the intake of 210 last year. That will leave 53 children on the waiting list. It is not the case that it can be balanced out because Skerries is its own unit.

The same issues are arising in a number of schools in the area. I will list the schools in respect of which the issue has been raised with me in the past couple of weeks. It is not by any means an exhaustive list. It includes Skerries Community College, Ardgillan Community College, Malahide Community School, St. Oliver Plunkett National School and the special needs unit extension at Skerries Educate Together National School. I have had the explanation given to me that parents put their children's name down for several schools and this can cause a backlog. That is most definitely not happening in Skerries. I know many of the parents on the waiting list and they have not put their children's names down for multiple schools. They want their children to go to school in the town where they live. That should not be too much to ask. As sure as night follows day, every child will need schooling at the age of five. At the end of that child's primary schooling, he or she will need a secondary school place. It is one of the most predictable things that happens.

There has been a consistent failure to plan for school places. That failure is most acutely felt in north County Dublin because of its young and expanding population. I spoke to some of the parents in Skerries today who are very disheartened and upset because they have been promised an expanded school but they do not see any plan for the 53 children who are stuck on the waiting list. The parents are absolutely frantic, as are the children themselves. We all know about the difficulties being experienced. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of them. There just does not seem to be a plan to address them. When I look back on the Dáil record, it shows that I have raised this issue repeatedly. It is not one that sorts itself out. There are still plenty of children who are not going to the school closest to them and must instead travel a fair distance to another school. The Minister of State and I both know that, for many, that does not involve getting on a bus or train. For a lot of children, it involves getting into a car in the morning. Apart from the environmental impact of that, which is a factor, it also means parents are made late for work and in starting their day because they cannot let their children go to school on their own. This is having a massive impact on families. I would be grateful if the Minister of State were to have some words of comfort for me on behalf of the Minister for Education.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As her question was framed in a general way, I will begin with some general points and I can provide more specifics in my follow-up response.

On behalf of the Minister for Education, I will outline the position with regard to primary and post-primary school places in north County Dublin for September 2024 and onwards. I assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post-primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs, is an absolute priority for the Minister. The Department has invested significantly in schools in north County Dublin over recent years. Bremore Educate Together Secondary School, Balbriggan, had a new school building for 1,000 pupils completed in 2018. Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, also in Balbriggan, was completed in 2019 and has accommodation for 1,000 pupils. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for the increasing population. There are further significant projects in the pipeline, including for the north Dublin area.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post-primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments throughout many school planning areas in north County Dublin. In response, the Department is progressing a number of building projects in the area under the national development plan. They include projects at primary and post-primary schools and provision for mainstream accommodation as well as for children with special educational needs.

Additionally there are a number of new school buildings and extensions which are at construction or planned, including for Lusk Community College, Portmarnock Community School, Malahide and Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School phase 2, Ériu Community College, Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together National School, Rush National School, Stapolin Educate Together National School and Skerries Community College.

School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. There are also 200 modular accommodation projects that are very well advanced for delivery or at construction stage. This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government’s very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities.

The Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north County Dublin. A critical next step is to acquire clarity on the actual number of additional first year places required for 2024 in order for an appropriate solution to be put in place. In that context, schools in a number of areas of enrolment pressure have been requested to share data on applications for admissions. The Department is liaising closely with schools to ensure that this data is provided as soon as possible, and once it is received the actual requirement for places can be established. The Department is also engaging more generally with patrons and schools across other areas regarding school place needs with a view to identifying any required accommodation solutions. This close engagement with schools and patrons will also allow the Department to identify particular further capacity requirements for the forthcoming years and put any required solutions in place, beyond those that are already in train, to ensure sufficient school places to meet the needs of students in the area.

With respect to special education, the Department works very closely with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, in relation to forward planning for increased special education provision in the form of additional special classes and special school places. This close engagement with the NCSE involves strategic planning to ensure that existing accommodation capacity, where it exists, is utilised and maximised in the context of providing new special classes. It also facilitates the identification of required accommodation solutions, where additional capacity is required. The Department is working with the NCSE to ensure that required special classes across north Dublin can be facilitated, both to meet needs for 2024-25 and future school years. I can assure the Deputy that Department officials will continue to actively engage with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students throughout north County Dublin for the 2024-25 school year and into the future. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that all of the children in the north County Dublin school planning areas will receive a school place.

I can give the Deputy some more specific information on Skerries in the follow-up.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Just to pick up on some of the points he made, he said the Department is aware of pressures for school places in school planning areas across north County Dublin. I should hope so, because I raise it often enough, as others do as well. He said the next step is to acquire clarity on the actual number of additional first year places required. With respect, this is our second last week before we rise at the end of 2023. It will be the middle of January when we come back. In his next response, the Minister of State might give me a timeframe for that. For many parents, once it gets into the new year they want to start planning, as the Minister of State knows himself, particularly if they are going to have to drive their kids to school in the morning if it is not going to be possible for them to get a place. Parents will be holding out hope that they will get the school place in their local area, but things like modular buildings and additional capacity put in at short notice cannot be done overnight, even with short notice. It he gets a chance in the follow-up, I ask the Minister of State to give me a timeframe for that, because I would like to be able to go back to the parents who are on the list and give them an update. I used Skerries as an example not for any reason other than it was the subject of the most recent conversation that I had. It is an issue right across my constituency. I ask the Minister of State to give me a timeframe for the 53 who are on the waiting list. The intake was 210 last year and it appears to have gone down to 180. That is already a bit of a worry. The Minister of State has referenced temporary solutions and has said a solution will be found. If that is going to happen, he might give me a timeframe for that. If he cannot do that now, he might give it to me in writing at a later date so that I can go back to the parents and tell them that while they do not know today, if they are part of that cohort of 53 they will know what that solution is going to be, and when they will know.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

Skerries Community College was approved for a project to cater for a school with 1,300 students and four classes for students with special education needs. The project was devolved for delivery to the ETB. Significant technical challenges for the delivery of the project on the current site were identified. The Department met with the ETB in August in order to assist the ETB progress the project. The ETB is now engaging in identifying options to advance the project in light of the significant site constraints discussed with the Department's professional technical officials.

In order to address the immediate enrolment requirements of the school, the Department approved modular accommodation comprised of three mainstream classrooms, a home economics room and an art room. This is expected to be completed shortly. My understanding is that that will be in quarter 1 of next year. The Department will continue to engage with the ETB regarding both the school's immediate and long-term accommodation needs, including with a view to facilitating the future provision of special classes at the school.

In relation to the particular issue of the 53 people on the waiting list, it is essentially an enrolment policy issue for the school. My understanding is - this is not from a departmental source - that the expectation is that the majority of the people on the list will be offered a place. That is the expectation. It was done a little bit differently this year to previous years, which is why the waiting list was longer. My understanding is that the majority of the people on the waiting list will get offered a place. It goes through a round of offers based on different categorisations of priority needs and so on, in terms of having siblings in the school, being in the catchment area and being from a feeder school. Those are the filters, for want of a better word, that will need to be got through, I assume within a period of weeks. My understanding is that those parents will have clarity then.