Michael Moynihan
Cork North-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I cannot emphasise enough the respect that the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I have for special needs assistants and the contribution they make to education. In March, we met the SNAs to have further engagement and consultation with them and to understand their roles.”
“We are very conscious of the issue. A huge number of groups that I have met over the past while, particularly on the dyslexia side, have all been discussing assistive technologies. That is also the case for children who are non-communicative and non-verbal. Assistive technologies are extremely important for them.”
“By way of background, 85% of the applications processed for assistive technology between January and June have been approved. We are always conscious of those who fall outside the scheme.”
“The approximate cost to the State per mainstream pupil is currently €1,400 annually, while the cost to the family is €100 per pupil. The total cost of the school transport system in 2025 was €537 million, equating to almost €3 million being spent on the provision of school transport per day.”
“I thank the Deputy. We are looking at ways to ensure that if there is a ticket issued, it will be used. Anecdotally, the Deputy and other colleagues tell us about school routes the length and breadth of the country that have spare capacity but, when we look at the system, all of the tickets on that particular school route are occupied and…”
“Under the current scheme, schools receive funding towards computers and specialised equipment required for educational purposes. To qualify, a student must have a diagnosis of a physical or commutative disability and a professional assessment confirming the equipment is essential to access the curriculum.”
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“Some €7.55 billion will be put into the education system over the next number of years, and a huge amount of money has been spent on it in the past five years. That has brought the education stock up right across the country. We will continue to invest in education.”
“That project has been completed. As for the other two projects, one is moving through. Both of the applications were made in the autumn of last year. I will ask the Department to ensure there is a timely discussion with them. The Deputy made a point regarding school accommodation and children being located in buildings that are not fit for purpose. Children are in primary school for eight crucial years of their lives. We have to ensure that we have the best possible services available for them. The Deputy referred to movement breaks and so on. All of that is hugely important, as we all understand. I can assure the Deputy that the applications are being assessed. We are duty-bound to ensure that we are assessing them. We have to assess them to make sure we are doing the right thing.”
“Given the general downward direction of overall enrolments in the area, the Department's focus for the assessment of such additional accommodation applications will be to analyse the extent to which enrolments at the school and neighbouring schools are serving the local area in the first instance. We are looking carefully at all applications to ensure we maximise what we have in terms of additional accommodation for the four schools raised by the Deputy. Some of the schools are at the very start of the application process. I assure him that the Department is working through the applications and will be in contact with the school authorities shortly with further information.”
“In October 2025, the school submitted an application for additional accommodation for two mainstream classrooms, and the application is currently being assessed by officials in the Department. I can confirm that the fourth school has a major project for a new school building that was devolved for delivery to Louth County Council. It is currently at stage 4, construction, of the architectural design process. The Department is engaging with the local authority regarding a proposal on the provision of additional car parking spaces. Louth County Council has been and will continue to engage with the school authorities regarding this project. At a national level, primary enrolments are projected to decline by almost 100,000 over a ten-year period.”
“The school submitted an application under the additional school accommodation scheme in 2025. The application is under assessment, and officials are in ongoing contact with this school. The second school is a co-educational Catholic school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Armagh. It has an enrolment this year of 139 pupils, including two special classes. The school applied for additional accommodation in 2022, and on foot of that application had modular accommodation comprising two special education classrooms and one special education tuition room delivered in May 2023. The third school is a co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Armagh. It has an enrolment of 82, including pupils in its special education class, which was established at this school in September 2024.”
“From the total of €7.55 billion being invested via this plan, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the large-scale, additional accommodation, modular and annual September accommodation needs programmes. Over the course of this year and next, there will be construction work on some 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide 57,000 additional and modernised school places. with a strong special educational needs focus in all projects. The first school referred to is a co-educational Catholic primary school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Armagh. It has an enrolment in the current academic year of 182 pupils, including two special education classes.”
“The four issues brought to my attention prior to coming to the House concern St. Mochta’s, Monksland and Shelagh national schools and car parking issues at the new build for Ardee Educate Together primary school. The Deputy raised other issues that I might come back to in my closing remarks. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Department of education has invested a serious amount of money in the sectoral investment plan for the period 2026 to 2030, which involves a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs.”
“I take the seriousness of the point the Deputy is making in relation to Dunshaughlin. He has outlined the challenges in an area with a growing population of students and young people. I will take the point the Deputy made on the national school that when that is completed, the project will need to move on. I know other parts of the country as well where there are significant challenges in meeting second level education demand in particular but also in the primary sector. I will go back and engage fully with the Department to ensure we do understand and there is a roadmap to try and facilitate every student. In regard to the number of places in mainstream schools, it is important that we have certainty on that. This month, there will be enrolment letters going out and whether they are accepted or not, that will add further pressure.”
“Our sectoral investment plan published last month sets out the Department's approach to prioritised investment in school infrastructure to ensure that every child has a school place and to support the overall operation of the school system and youth sector in terms of capital infrastructure. There is a strong focus in our plan on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs, particularly in regard to special education and also areas experiencing huge growth in their student population.”
“In addition, there is a new school building project in progress for Dunshaughlin Community National School, which will provide eight mainstream classrooms and two special education classrooms. This project is also at stage 4. Furthermore, a total capital ceiling of €7.55 billion for 2026 to 2030 was allocated to the Department under the national development plan. This is a very significant investment in our education and youth sectors and will help deliver on our commitment to have a world-class education system that supports every learner to reach their full potential.”
“There are currently 14 school projects in County Meath under construction. Another six school projects will go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027, and this summer, ten schools are approved to undergo works as part of the summer works scheme and the climate action scheme. In addition, since 2020, a total of 119 special classes have been opened in the county, 12 of which were sanctioned for September 2026. With regards to the Deputy's concerns in relation to Dunshaughlin, a number of active projects at primary and post-primary level are in progress that will increase capacity. These include a new school building in Dunshaughlin, which will provide post-primary accommodation for 1,000 students and six special education classrooms. This project is at stage 4.”
“The educational welfare services 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. The provision of additional school places can be required in a very small number of areas. This can be facilitated by a range of strategies, some of which may involve additional accommodation but also by optimising the existing spaces. Between 2020 and 2025, the Department has provided over €459 million in capital funding for Meath schools. Over this period, a total of 62 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation.”
“While the Department is aware of the enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in areas like Dunshaughlin, it is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by a number of issues, including applications from outside the area and schools of choice. Notwithstanding the above, in some areas, demographic pressures and other factors are driving the requirement for additional school places. The Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In addition to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act 1998.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will set out the position on behalf of Minister, Deputy Naughton, regarding the shortage of mainstream school places in Dunshaughlin, County Meath. 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 a priority for me, the Minister and the Department. Preschool and primary school enrolments at a national level have been in decline for some years, which, in turn, is leading to a reduction in demand for primary school places in rural areas and many urban areas across the country. The downward demographic trend is now apparent for the first time at post-primary level.”
“The other point on it is that we have almost 25,000 SNAs. In any of the debate over the past week, we were talking about less than 1% of the SNAs across the country. We take into consideration everything that has been said to us and every discussion. We are working on that. Last night and again today, we had a number of meetings, and these will be ongoing over the next number of days. Every decision we will be making will be child-centred to make sure we are giving the best opportunity for children, not just to go through education but to have the best possible chance of a positive outcome within life.”
“I am desperately passionate about making sure that the very core of our systems and the integrity of the systems, which have been there for quite some time, are targeted towards the children. We will see the provision of that right across.”
“We want to be very clear when we have that done what the process will be. The integrity of the process is important as well. Over many years, the National Council for Special Education has delivered special education and reviewed cases. When care needs move on from primary school to post-primary school, we must make sure that the SNA or the support is given to the most vulnerable in their school settings. Everything we are doing is for the child within the school setting to make sure they are getting the best access to the education. We have to look at the outcomes for children and the supports they will get in primary school and post-primary school. It is not the case that it is the school community; it is always the students who we have at the very heart of it.”
“That scheme has been worked through over the past 18 months or so with the unions and all concerned. That redeployment scheme will be in place. On the work we have to do, we have paused because we listened very carefully to the concerns. I spoke to principals, parents and SNAs right across the country - not just in my own area in Cork North-West - over the weekend and prior to that. In engagements this week on Monday, we met a number of school principals. They outlined the challenges that they have within the schools. The appeals system is there to make sure that anybody who is dissatisfied with a decision or if they have further information, that they can submit to the National Council for Special Education. It is a robust appeals system. All those decisions are being looked at. Right now, everything is being paused.”
“In relation to the value of the SNAs, absolutely. When I started out on my political journey, it was people who were on community employment, CE, schemes who were providing the SNA support within schools. A decision was taken by the now Taoiseach, then the Minister for education, back in 1997 or 1998 about SNAs. We have grown that to almost 25,000 SNAs across this country. In any comparison with any of the other developed countries in Europe or elsewhere, we are way ahead in terms of the support we are giving into classrooms and to make sure the most vulnerable are getting it. The redeployment scheme will be in operation from 1 September. Any SNA who is being redeployed from one school will have an opportunity to redeploy. That scheme is in place.”
“Every single one of them will be operational and populated by children who need extra educational support for their time in primary and post-primary school.”
“I genuinely believe that all who are concerned about it have a very clear understanding of what we want to do, including the National Council for Special Education, the Department for education, me , the Minister, Deputy Naughton on her appointment in November and, prior to that, the Minister, Deputy McEntee. We want to do the right thing by every child. If we are investing properly in primary and post-primary education, it will lead to the best outcomes for those children into the future. The Senator knows my bona fides on this matter, but I assure her that we are taking the issues on it desperately seriously. She mentioned the school and classroom. There are over 300 special classes, which are months earlier than last year. A number of additional special classes will be announced across the country over the next weeks and months.”
“Before any further decisions are taken, we have to have clear understandings in terms of a number of schools that have lost a number of SNAs and get the reasons for that. We will update the Houses immediately when we have that. We started discussions on that yesterday and there are a number of meetings this morning and into the afternoon today. We are very serious about making sure about this. I understand the families. I have met the families and the students, not just across the country in my role over the past 12 months but right throughout my political journey. I have been engaged in special education and have been working on behalf of families. I continue to do that.”
“We have had many detailed discussions, not just this weekend, but every week as to how we are going to ensure that the need out there, which is constantly growing, is met. The 1,700 SNAs will be employed from 1 September 2026. There are no questions and no ifs or buts. It is in the budget for it. All mainstream, special schools and special classes will see an increase in the number of the SNAs who are employed in each sector. We have to accept that and understand it. On scapegoating, politicians and Ministers will take that but those who are within the National Council for Special Education, SENOs and those teams are working to the best of their ability to give the information back. We have now paused the decisions that were made because we are doing a complete review of it.”
“Right across the education system, work that is going on in schools. As well as anybody else in these Houses, I understand what is going on with the school communities, the leadership in the school communities, the SNAs, the teachers and all who make up the school communities. We are working day in and day out to do the very best for the children in the schools. There are some remarkable stories and remarkable examples of best practice that I have seen in the last while across the country. The NCSE is charged with providing for special educational needs. It is important to make one point. We are setting out to do the right thing. I firmly believe this applies to my own position and right across the Government.”
“I welcome the group from Scoil Eoin Naofa in County Westmeath. I hope they enjoy their trip to Leinster House. It is always great for schools to visit. The Senator raised a number of matters. The 1 October deadline was to make sure that we had better sight of the number of children who need special educational supports within the school system, and that we would have better planning for that. One week after my appointment last year, I brought back the date from 1 February to 1 October. We are also engaging with every and any family who contacted the NCSE since 1 October, and working with those families to ensure their needs are met. The 1 October date was to give a sight of this. A number of families contacted us after 1 October, and we are continuing to engage clearly with those families.”
“I take the point in relation to community centres being a short-term solution. This discommodes communities in a major way. Community centres are hubs for social events and family gatherings. I have been with school communities in my area that have used them in the short term, but they are never satisfactory because permanent solutions are needed. We do not need a short-term solution. We need to look at the issue. The Senator might come back to me after this discussion with regard to the enrolment for September next. The school should have a reasonable idea at this stage as to what the enrolment will be. I will take this back and ask the Department to engage with the school community. In the first instance, we might get the projected enrolment for 2026-27 from the school community, and take it from there.”
“I will go back to the Department and ask it to engage with the school authorities. The Senator might outline the position, and I will respond in my subsequent contribution.”
“In some instances where there are capacity issues, the Department is looking at community facilities to meet the immediate needs of the school community, but it will always been on a short-term basis while we try to find a permanent solution. In the past, we would be looking at a permanent or modular building. The Department is always looking to ensure that the best possible value for money is obtained. Given the ongoing need across the entirety of the school estate and despite the fact that billions have been put into the system in the recent years, value for money remains important. We need to get a sense of this. This small school has grown its enrolment over time, which is a testament to the work done by the school leadership and the whole school community. It is a great sign. I would like to tease out where this school is at.”
“The Senator will also be aware that the Department recently published the €7.55 billion national development plan, NDP, sectoral investment plan for the period 2026 to 2030. This places a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and the prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard, there will also be a strong emphasis on special education. In relation to the issue raised by the Senator, it is important that the Department works with the school's authorities. In her next contribution, will the Senator tease through the issues with the community hall and its facilities?”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak about Tiernascragh National School and am delighted that the Senator mentioned Kiskeam, the centre of the universe. Joking aside, I welcome the opportunity to take this issue on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton, who is responsible for the capital programmes. As the Senator is aware, Tiernascragh National School in County Galway is a mixed Catholic school, located within the Portumna school planning area. It has 53 pupils enrolled for the 2025-26 school year, according to the information I have. The school has an additional school accommodation application with the Department for one mainstream classroom.”
“As we are talking about Gaelcholáistí, I think visitors from Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí are about to join us in the Public Gallery. It would be remiss of me if I did not mention it. I have a vested interest. My good lady wife is working in the school.”
“Five of these new special classes are being provided in County Louth. This brings to 120 the total number of special classes available across County Louth. Additionally, there are four special schools in County Louth supporting 421 children. The sanctioning of these new special classes is a number of months ahead of last year and should provide greater certainty for parents. It also provides schools with more time to establish new classes. I expect schools will open new classes to move forward now with admissions processes. The NCSE will keep us informed weekly of developments in relation to the special classes and the provision of education. We will respond directly to the Deputy and his colleague on the issue raised.”
“My understanding is the issue is 1 October. That is my information on that specific case. We are aware of it and will follow up and report back to both the Deputy and his colleague. In regard to Drogheda and County Louth, in particular, the Government is committed to continuing acceleration of provision of additional special classes and special school places across the country. The National Council for Special Education is the statutory body responsible for that and the Department and the NCSE are working very closely with both myself and the senior Minister in the Department, Deputy Naughton, to ensure we have certainty for families and students into the 2026-2027 school year. To date, the Department and NCSE have sanctioned 301 special school classes. That is a number of months earlier than it was last year.”
“On that planning, it is important we have sight of the information from other Departments like the Departments of children and Social Protection. We need good information to plan properly. There are a raft of issues around it but we need sight of where the challenges are. We are looking at ways and means of ensuring we have information earlier, not just when the parent notifies the NCSE but also if a child is on domiciliary care or AIMS. I have no issue if the Deputies have individual cases. We will work with them to try to find solutions for them.”
“I accept the point they are travelling across the county. Transport and trying to ensure the provision of special education is as close as possible to families is one of the things we have discussed. A lot of children with additional needs are travelling long distances to get to their school places and it is something we need to be very mindful of. Regarding 1 October, for anyone after that date we are issuing the letters of eligibility. Those letters have started over the past day or so and they will continue. We have worked very closely on it. I want to be clear on this because there is some commentary that 1 October is an arbitrary deadline but 1 October was brought in to ensure we would be in a position to have forward planning.”
“Through the various challenges we have had on it, I constantly have that family in my mind, and we need to do far better. The Deputy makes the point that families and parents are stressed about this. We have moved this system back four or five months to bring certainty to them.”
“I thank the Deputy. Last year 1 February was the deadline. That was extended by a week due to Storm Éowyn. We looked at trying to plan in February, March and April last year and saw the challenges families and people were meeting. A decision was made by the then Minister, Deputy McEntee, and me to bring the dates back to 1 October. One of the first discussions I had with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, upon her appointment was to look at the whole concept so we can bring better planning into the system and greater certainty for students and families. A number of years ago I was at a school gate meeting a family whose child was finishing sixth class on 26 June without knowing where the child was going to start post-primary education in September.”
“In addition, given the large number of additional resources for specialised provision, it is important to point out 300 special classes have already been sanctioned for 2026. That is months ahead of where we were last year. This time last year we just looking at the numbers in the first and second week of February. We are a number of months ahead, we have those sanctioned and there will be recruitment in relation to those as well.”
“The NCSE manages the allocation of SNAs to the school and it is the responsibility of the council to ensure these resources are allocated to children with the greatest level of need. The number of SNAs available for allocation has continued to increase annually and this has resulted in a significant increase in the number of SNA posts in schools. Budget 2026 provides for a further 1,700 SNA posts, which will bring the total number to close to 25,000 by the end of 2026. As in previous years, the NCSE will advise all schools of their SNA allocations in this year and these allocations will be made known to schools at an earlier stage than in previous years. The provision of early allocation to schools will ensure they will be in a position to plan for the 2026-2027 school year, including recruitment where necessary.”
“I thank the Deputy. The Government is fully committed to supporting special education needs to achieve their full potential and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The NCSE has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special education needs. I assure the Deputy the 860 special education teachers and 1,700 special needs assistants will be allocated well in advance of the commencement of the 2026-2027 school year to mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. As in previous years, the special education teaching allocations for mainstream classes is intended to be published as part of the general staffing allocation in February.”
“We expanded the figures in the most recent budget and will continue to do so. With the resources in the classrooms, we will allow children to grow and develop and to lead as full a life as possible. That is fundamentally what I believe. I take the Deputies' points. Each school should engage with the process for reviews and appeals. There is a process there. However, I take the point about the seriousness of the engagement.”
“I appreciate that. I understand. I am fully aware of the work that is going on in Bweeng. I do not want to single out any specific school. I take the point. If I am realistic, I am heartened each time there is a debate on special education by the commitment across the House and Deputies' fundamental understanding of the challenges that are there in respect of special educational needs and special classes. We are putting in resources. There are almost 25,000 SNAs across the system. We are putting in further supports for educational needs. I take the point that there is a considerable amount of need within the school communities. We are working extremely closely with them. Neither the Minister, Deputy Naughton, nor I is blind to the challenge we have and the growing need that is there. We are going to continue to expand.”
“We must accept that we have put a huge amount of resources into special education, particularly for SNAs and SETs. In this year's budget, it was one of the sectors that got the greatest increase. We are deeply committed. Whether in mainstream, special classes or special schools, the strength of our special educational system is based upon SNAs. They do amazing work in school communities. They enable children to flourish and benefit from the education system. On the backs of SNAs and SETs, we have built special education, together with all the school communities across the country. We have close to 25,000 SNAs within the education system this year. There has been an increase in the budget figure and the number of SETs. We are continuing to invest in the education system and particularly on the special education side.”
“In these circumstances, schools, including those in Galway, can request the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to undertake a review of their allocation. Where the NCSE identifies the need for additional resources, they will be provided so that they are available to the school ahead of the relevant school year. It should be noted that schools in County Galway have seen an overall increase of 18% in the number of SETs in the past five years and, as I outlined, a 27% increase in SNA allocation.”
“Special needs assistants, SNAs, play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. The number of SNAs allocated to schools in Galway since the 2020-21 school year has increased from 887 to 1,224. By the end of this year, there will be close to 21,000 SETs and almost 25,000 SNAs in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. In the case of both SETs and SNAs, it is accepted that any model which distributes resources requires to be flexible to allow for circumstances where additional need may arise.”
“I thank the Deputy for providing me with the opportunity to respond. As he knows, this Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, is the class teacher or subject teacher. The special education teaching allocation provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the learning needs of students in mainstream classes based on their profile of need. The number of special education teachers, SETs, in Galway has increased from 1,003 to 1,187 since the 2020-21 school year.”
“That has increased many times over the past three, four or five years. We understand the challenges that are within the special education system and we are meeting them head on.”
“On the seriousness with which the NCSE and the Department are taking the numbers, we have worked throughout - right up to almost Christmas, to 23 December - to make sure we had sight of what figures were and how we are going to work on it. At the end of this discussion, there are children and there are families and it is hugely important we give certainty to them. As the Deputy quite rightly acknowledged, we brought back the date to 1 October. There is huge investment in special education to ensure the needs of children with additional educational needs are being met. We are heading for almost 25,000 SNAs across the system. We are looking at where SNAs are deployed. It is the first time in a long time that we have had a full review because we want to ensure that the need is being met but we have a colossal amount of investment in SNAs.”
“That is what we are going do and we are not going to have an auction right through until September. We gave a commitment last year. We worked extremely hard on it - both the Department and the NCSE. It is the same because we have sight of what the challenges are and we are working right through system to make sure we are meeting the needs of every child and every family.”
“The NCSE is currently working through to make sure that the letters of eligibility are being issued to those who contacted it after 1 October. The Taoiseach is right in reflecting what both the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I have seen as the huge increase in the number of children who have contacted the NCSE, both prior to and post 1 October. To reiterate, 1 October was hugely significant in order that we have clear vision of the demand that was within the system. Last year, it was 1 February. We have an awful lot of work done over the past four months. We are very committed. Last year, there was continuous talk right through the summer about numbers. We gave a commitment here and at committee that we would work to ensure that we had a place and a pathway for every child.”