Written Answers Nos. 201-208
203. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Education the exact location of the new special school in Cork which is due to open in September 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6969/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for government. My department works closely with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places.
Building on successive budgets, Budget 2025 secured funding for up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools, and an additional 300 special school places for the 2025/26 school year. This will deliver 2,700 new places for children.
Part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansion is required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education appropriate to their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information the NCSE hold at local level on the number of children seeking a special school place in a region.
As you are aware five new special schools will be established for the next school year, two in County Dublin and one each in counties Cork, Monaghan and Tipperary. This will bring to 129 the number of NCSE supported special schools in the county. The special schools will be located in the North Cork City area and the final details in relation to the exact location will be confirmed very shortly.
Dedicated working groups have been established by my department to work through the details in relation to the establishment of the new special schools.
It is envisaged that existing buildings will be repurposed, in the first instance, to facilitate the opening of the new special schools for the 2025/26 school year. This will allow the schools to open as quickly as possible.
Parents and families looking to apply for admission to the new special school will be supported and guided by the NCSE at a local level and kept updated on developments.
204. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education for an update on additional class space for a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7006/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra209. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Education if her Department will liaise with the KWETB to provide a timeline for the provision of additional classroom resources to a school (details supplied). [7019/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is in the process of arranging interim accommodation for the school referred to by the Deputy in order to facilitate the school's immediate requirements pending delivery of their major building project. My officials are aware of the urgency associated with this accommodation and are working closely with the school authority and its design team to ensure the project is expedited.
The Department can also confirm that the school's major project which is devolved to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board is currently at stage 2b of the architectural planning process. This stage allows for detailed design/planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and preparation of tender documents.
The planning application was lodged in quarter 1 2024. A Request for Further Information (RFI) was subsequently received. The Design Team has submitted a response to the RFI and subject to any further issues arising during the planning process, the project will proceed to tender and construction in due course.
205. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on her Department's work to develop a roadmap for inclusive education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7009/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 16 January 2024, the National Council for Special Education published its policy advice paper on special schools and classes entitled “An Inclusive education for an Inclusive society”. This follows a request in October 2018, by the then Minister for Education and Skills to advise on the educational provision for students in special schools and classes and to make recommendations on the future provision required to enable them to achieve better outcomes.
The NCSE policy advice sought to consider how existing good practices could be incorporated and further developed in the design of an inclusive education system where children have the opportunity to learn in their local school with their siblings and peers.
The policy paper recommends progressive realisation of an inclusive education system for Ireland. It is envisaged that this system will be informed by, and aligned to, the relevant articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which Ireland ratified in 2018.
The advice recommends a phased transition with incremental changes taking place over many years with special schools and classes remaining an important placement option for students and parents.
There is a strong base from which to develop an inclusive education system in Ireland with investment in special education amounting to €2.9 billion in 2025, his figure builds on previous years and represents over a quarter of the education budget. While the amount expended each year is a budgetary issue, the adoption of a more inclusive education system doesn’t mean there needs to be significant additional spending. We have 20,000 teachers working in specialist settings at the moment. We’ve a similar number of SNAs. The challenge is to ensure that model of inclusion it develops for our system is one which builds on existing good practice and existing resources.
Further research, engagement with stakeholders and other government Departments and agencies, piloting, trialling, and evaluation will comprise key components of the Department’s response to the policy advice over the coming years.
However, it is important to note that several actions being undertaken or planned for the near future by the department address aspects of the NCSE recommendations. Many of these actions are at an early stage of development and will take considerable time to deliver. However, cumulatively, they address the identified need for the adoption of a more inclusive education system and could be viewed as key enablers of such a system.
Following on from an application from the Department of Education, the European Commission’s DG Reform Office has sanctioned support under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI). TSI is an EU programme that provides tailor-made technical expertise to EU member states to design and implement reforms. This consultancy support will assist in shaping the Department’s response to the policy advice. This is very welcome and should provide us with the necessary expertise to develop the model of inclusion which will work best for our system.
The outcome of the requested technical support will be the increased capacity of Ireland to design and implement specialist provision to support inclusive education in mainstream settings; as well as the improved awareness of stakeholders towards inclusive education. It is expected the final reports and roadmap to be completed in November 2025.
206. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Education if she will make funding available to remove dangerous trees from school grounds, considering the damage that has been caused recently by Storm Éowyn many trees are damaged and potentially very dangerous. [7012/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
It is open to any school, that considers it may have an issue that qualifies as an emergency, to make an application for EWS funding. To make an application schools must complete the online Emergency Works Application Form available through the Esinet system.
207. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the procedure for forward planning and identifying the number, type and location of special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools for 2025-2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7014/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling children with special educational needs to receive a befitting education is a priority for this Government. It is also a key priority 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.
My Department works closely with the NCSE on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. Building on successive budgets, Budget 2025 secured funding for up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools, and an additional 300 special school places for the 2025/26 school year. This will deliver 2,700 new places for children.
The information held on the Department's Geographical Information System (GIS), particularly in relation to student demographics, is a key component when forecasting the need for additional special class and special school places. My Department and the NCSE have undertaken analysis of the trends in special class and special school provision over recent years by county and local school planning area. In total there are 314 local school planning areas.
My Department and the NCSE identify the need for special educational provision with consideration to demographical and statistical data and in regard to an areas existing school provision and future capability. In addition, part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansion is required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education appropriate to their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information NCSE hold at local level on the number of children seeking a special school place in a region.
In October 2024, my Department published a circular letter introducing a number of new measures to assist with the forward planning of special education provision. This included asking parents to notify the NCSE directly in relation to the need for a specialist placement. In addition, the Circular letter also outlined how the NCSE would be prioritising medium to large primary schools with no special class or just one special class to open a new special class for the coming year. My Department also reminded all post-primary schools of the need to continue planning to provide on average four special classes each.
My Department has also provided additional funding to the NCSE to allow it recruit additional special education needs organisers and team managers, who will be key to working with parents and schools at local level on forward planning. The NCSE have conducted over 1000 school planning visits in the early months of this school year and they will be key to confirming what schools will open special classes for the coming school year.
208. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Education if there will be a change in rules in the two-year induction period that newly qualified teachers from the UK must do before they can transfer to teach in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7015/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Regulations.
The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Their role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. They do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.
To assist with teacher supply challenges in the context of a demographic need, the Teaching Council has proposed the creation of a timebound provision within the revised Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations, 2016.
This timebound provision, once enacted, would enable eligible teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to apply for registration and complete their induction requirement in the ROI. It is expected that primary and post-primary teachers, who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland and apply to complete their induction here under the new provision, will be subject to meeting eligibility and qualifications requirements prior to approval.
The implementation of the revised Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations is subject to a staged Proportionality Assessment process in line with the 2018 EU Proportionality Test Directive. Subject to the outcome of the Proportionality Assessment process, the timebound provision is intended to open to applications from the implementation date of the revised Registration Regulations.
It is anticipated that the timebound provision could open in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025. However, the exact timeline for opening applications is dependent on the implementation date of the revised Registration Regulations. It should also be noted that applicants will likely have to meet certain eligibility and qualifications requirements prior to approval. Further information relating to the provision will be available on the Teaching Council website in due course.
