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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“Based on the volume of applications received by 1 October, it would appear there was a good awareness of the date and it is clear there is an increased demand for special education placements compared with previous years. The NCSE advises that a significant number of children and young people coming through the parent notification process and seeking a special class or special school place for the 2026-20 school year are already enrolled in schools and are being supported by existing special education teachers and special needs assistants. I am please to confirm that this week, the NCSE has this week recommenced the issuing of letters of eligibility to children and young people who have made contact with them after the 1 October timeline.”
“To support the NCSE and forward planning, the Department of education published Circular 39/2025. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE through the parent notification process that they are seeking a special school placement for their child. This year, to facilitate earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2026-27 school year, an earlier date of 1 October was set for parents to complete the process. The NCSE undertook significant work at local and national level to ensure that families and schools were aware of the timeline and process.”
“The Government is committed to continuing the acceleration of the provision of additional special class and special school places for 2026-27 by providing at least 3,000 new spaces in locations which are best meeting the existing and future demand. The provision of timely information is a key requirement to support the forward planning of new special education provision. Budget 2026 provides funding for over 400 new special classes and at least 400 new special school places for the 2026-27 school year. The NCSE has sanctioned over 301 special classes so far this year to commence in September 2026, with more planned in the coming weeks. I commend the Department and the NCSE for the work they are doing in this regard. This is months ahead of last year and should provide greater clarity for parents.”
“We will certainly work together to try to get the best possible outcomes. She will appreciate that I cannot give any cast iron guarantees. There is a process there that needs to be done. We will work on that process. I have no difficulty working with Senator O'Loughlin on this or any other issue.”
“Yes, the vision is very clear. It is about the best outcomes for the students. We must keep that in mind. We have additional SNAs put into the system. We got additional SNAs in this year's budget and that number has continued to grow over the last number of years. We have 25,000 SNAs in the system. The review looked at all the information we had to try to make the best possible decisions for the students and the best possible decisions to maximise the care where there is a need within school communities. For a variety of reasons, it is important that the school appeal the decision and put its best foot forward in that regard. Senator O'Loughlin and I have worked together very carefully over many years since she came into the Oireachtas and even before that. She has a fantastic grasp and understanding of education.”
“Of course, there is an appeal process in place. I stress that the school authorities should put in that appeal and put the strongest possible case forward. I do not need to tell the school authorities that because that is what they are extremely good at, but it is important that they articulate the challenges they have, the care needs within the school and, of course, the growth in population because all of that is information that will be looked at in an appeal. The appeal process is open. Right across the system, we have some schools that are losing SNAs and some that are gaining SNAs. I encourage everybody to put in an appeal and I assure the House that they will be dealt with fairly. I encourage this school to put the best case forward in the appeal.”
“I do not want to get into the specifics of the school today because that is ultimately a role for the National Council for Special Education. We in the Department have given that role to the NCSE. I work very closely with it. We have weekly meetings, updating me on the challenges within this area. However, I take the points the Senator has made about the school. She mentioned at the outset of her contribution that the student population had gone from 820 to 930. That is a huge increase. A school that is heading for somewhere in the region of 1,000 pupils is an important educational structure, and it is important that we understand it and support it. The point is that we have many SNAs in the system and we have to make sure that they are where the greatest need is. We have to look at that. This review is ongoing.”
“The SNAs do amazing work. They are a great addition to the school community and they also bring an expertise that is second to none. We have had a review right across the system. It is the first time we have had a review in terms of SNAs in some time. We also have the redeployment scheme, which is coming in on the same basis as it has for teachers. For one reason or another, the care needs in a school may have changed, so they will be moved from one school to another. There is a redeployment scheme starting on 1 September this year. This is something that, this time last year when I took over the role, I worked on to try to get it in place. It is important that we respect the SNAs and the work they do. That is an integral part of it. We must also make sure they have pathways into the future. The Senator raised the issue of this school.”
“Yes. They are very welcome to Leinster House. I thank Senator Fiona O'Loughlin for her engagement on the Patrician Catholic Secondary School in Newbridge, County Kildare. I also thank the Senator for the amount of work she does and has done on education. She used to chair the Oireachtas committee on education and had a huge input into it. Indeed, on many committees I have chaired, she has a huge input into special education. That was important. To speak to the issue of SNAs specifically, we have almost 25,000 SNAs within the education system at the moment. That number has grown hugely over the last number of years. That is to try to meet the demand within the school communities. Investment in SNAs and special education more widely is obviously a huge priority for me in the role that I hold - not just now, but right throughout.”
“As I said in the opening statement, how we invest in special education will determine the outcomes for a lot of children.”
“I do not want to go into the specifics of one person but I will take the matter privately and we will see if we can advise as best we can. The inspectorate has evaluated the provision for special classes and young people with dyslexia. That report feeds in internally into how we in the Department of education and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, are going to look at supporting people with dyslexia into the future. A lot of information has come from families and schools about how best practice has worked in their school communities or in reading classes. Information has also come to us about the gaps in the system. We are working together closely on that. I will share some of it with the Senator in terms of the report. We are acutely aware of the challenges. We intend to work on this.”
“The challenge is that there are four reading schools across the country in comparison with the level of demand across the country. We have all come across people who are super intelligent but have dyslexia and it has stifled their growth within a normal functioning society. It has not enabled them to be the best they can be. There is public discussion when people tell us their stories and how they masked it. All of that is true but we have to be mindful as we develop special education into the future. I said in the Dáil last night that the investment we put into education, including special education, would reap rewards not just for the students of today, but for society into the future.”
“Dyslexia has quite rightly been debated; I think this is my third or fourth time in the Seanad debating it and listening to the concerns of Members. It is a real issue because people are bringing it forward and expressing it on the floor of the Seanad. While there is huge investment in supporting children with additional needs in mainstream, the Senator quite rightly pointed out that a large number of extra classes - over 301 - are sanctioned this year, months earlier than last year. That being said, we have listened to debates from the Senator's colleagues in relation to extra time in exams for dyslexia. We need to evaluate the documentation and the review of reading classes and, in particular, reading schools.”
“Reading schools and reading classes have been developed. I am a huge fan of reading schools. I have seen students who have gone to reading schools and classes and it has transformed their lives. In some instances, they have been able to go back into mainstream but they spent one or two years or perhaps longer in a reading class or school. We have seen considerable demand or expressions of interest from families for them. We have invested significantly to try to support children and students within mainstream classes but the inspectorate and the Department are evaluating reading classes and schools and their positive impact. That report is being processed at the moment. We are trying to inform ourselves as to the importance of the reading classes.”
“I welcome the students from Listowel to Leinster House. It is not a million miles from me over the border. I hope they enjoy the day. It is always a great day to experience Leinster House where our democratic process is best performed. I wish them a great day. Over the past 25 years in particular, there has been huge investment in special education in terms of looking at the issues that pertain to individuals to try to best support them. There has been a lot of talk about the success of reading classes. The Senator outlined clearly the 9:1 ratio and its importance. She referenced a child she knew in her community. When we make cases in the Seanad or Dáil, it is important to bring personal stories because we are trying to make sure that special education is delivering for every student.”
“We will also come back to the Deputy on the other issue of the permanent school building for that Gaelscoil in Finglas. I again thank him for the opportunity to address this issue this morning. I will relay his comments to the Department and the Minister, Deputy Naughton.”
“I ask that the Gaelscoil engage with the Department in relation to the immediate issues to see if there is a pathway forward to deal with them through the Department's emergency works programme. I pay tribute to all of those working on the capital programme within the Department of education to make sure we are targeting the schools that really need investment. A lot of that has been laid out over the past while and a lot more will be done. At the end of the day, in relation to the school the Deputy raised this morning and the issues regarding a leaking roof, it is important the school engage with the Department and make an application. That will be adjudicated on in accordance with the terms and conditions of the scheme.”
“I thank the Deputy for the points he has made. Record investment is going into the Department of education's capital programme for developments right across the country. Over the past number of years, record investment has been made in the building stock across the system. We recently announced over €7.5 billion in school investment through the national development plan. Thousands of schools across the country have seen investment in upgrading their facilities. I will make the point that we are acutely aware that investment in education, whether on the capital side or current, pays dividends as regards the long-term well-being of society. The more we invest in education, the better the outcomes for children into adulthood. We have seen that in Irish society over 100 years.”
“I note the points the Deputy has made on the ongoing issue of a new school building. I will take those points back but, in the first instance, if there are works that can be done immediately, I encourage the Deputy and the school authorities to engage with the Department to see if progress can be made.”
“I note the points he made regarding the old building and the fact that the Gaelscoil is operating in it. I have no doubt about the excellent work being done there by the school community. We thank them for the work they do. Deputy Hearne also mentioned that the roof of the PE hall is leaking. We have experienced, particularly since October, a huge amount of rainfall. It was one of the wettest winters in quite some time. I do not have the specifics regarding the roof and the damage that has been done to it but I urge the school to engage with the Department in relation to emergency works because it is important that all of the school building is accessible. The school is there to provide education across academia along with PE and so forth. It is important that an application is made in that regard.”
“The emergency works scheme is open to primary and post-primary schools that have permanent recognition and that are in non-rented accommodation. In order to make applications, schools must complete the online emergency works application form that is available on the Department's system. As Deputy Hearne will be aware, details in respect of the climate action summer works scheme for 2026 and onwards were also announced in 2025. The purpose of this scheme is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disruption. The scheme will operate on a multi-annual basis. Deputy Hearne made a point about children participating in the entire curriculum. That is very important.”
“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 which, if not corrected, would prevent a school or a part thereof from opening. The scheme operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to address an emergency situation. It is intended to remedy emergency situations and usually provides interim measures until permanent solutions can be delivered under the summer works scheme, which deals with upgrade works to schools. In the case of outdoor play areas, this usually includes repairs to existing play areas. Each application is assessed on its merits. In the case of the school to which Deputy Hearne refers, there is no emergency works application outstanding with the Department.”
“I wish the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach a happy St. Gobnait's day. This is a hugely important day in his home territory, and it is important to recognise that. I thank Deputy Hearne for raising the matter of the Gaelscoil in Finglas. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. The purpose of the Department's emergency works scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with additional needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works for those schools that are in need of it as a result of an emergency situation.”
“Sometimes we see the interaction with the various semi-State bodies, such as Bus Éireann or others, and we are informed that someone else has to complete that application and then it is back for another application. I am not sure that we should look at putting in a third application or something else. We need to simply all of the services that are around special schools and special classes to make it simpler and take out the bureaucracy as much as possible. However, I do take the Senator's points on board.”
“The first is to make sure that the benefits are given to the school bus escorts in a speedier time. That is something that we will engage with the Department of Social Protection on. I do not absolve myself from any responsibility, it is under our remit, and it is about a whole-of-government approach. We have to have a whole-of-government approach right across the sectors to make sure we are not just ticking boxes. I accept that fully but I make the point that we have to engage with them. While it is not something that is directly under my remit, I will certainly do that. On co-ordination, I do not have any issue with exploring co-ordination within individual schools.”
“It is great to be here with the students from UCC as well. I welcome them. It is great to be with Cork people when we are in the Chambers in Dublin - a little bit of support from them. I take the Senator's point on the co-ordinator. I would be reluctant to have some external body co-ordinating a number of schools but I take the point in relation to specific co-ordinators within schools because in special schools and special classes, that often falls to the deputy principal. It is something that has been raised continuously with the Department. From my engagement with the special schools in my area over a long number of years, I know the concerns they have and some have a number of buses for students from special classes. I understand the challenge that is there. There are two issues related to what the Senator has raised with me.”
“Year on year, they will apply for social welfare during the various breaks. The Senator spoke to me at the Oireachtas joint committee and this was something we took away. It is also something we have discussed with school leadership around the country in the various special schools we have visited over the past 12 months to get their feedback and their ideas on it. I seriously pay tribute to all those who are working within special schools for the amazing work they do.”
“Be that as it may, however, it is important that we understand that we must protect the school bus escorts, who are an integral part of the special classes and the special schools, and ensure we can simplify the process for them. The Senator referred in her opening remarks to the repeated form-filling. It is challenging and it is seen as over-bureaucratic and just ticking the boxes for the sake of it. I think there is something we need to look at there. There are people within the Department of Social Protection who would say that there were other professionals working within the school system heretofore, but it is important that we try to simplify the system where people can get their benefits without having the constant form-filling and the delay within the system.”
“Sometimes if we create another layer of bureaucracy in the system, it is not as close to the school, to the child, to the parent or to the school community. That is my own personal opinion on it. We have done a lot of work in relation to the school bus escorts and, as the Senator quite rightly pointed out, the salaries have been increased over the past while, which is very welcome. We are working to engage further in terms of making sure there is a proper system in place. As regards the issue the Senator raised about summer, Christmas and Easter, first of all, it is an issue for the Department of Social Protection.”
“I understand the point the Senator makes, which is about the amount of work that is there for the principals and the deputy principals to co-ordinate that and that they are making sure that they have school bus escorts recruited and that they are deployed in terms of their availability and so forth each day. There is a whole series of work being done there, and I know that that is extra work they do as part of their administrative role. The administration of it is brought up with us at each and every special school we visit and indeed at schools with a number of special classes. They would have buses coming in as well, and the co-ordination of it is important, as is making sure we have a system in place. It is important as well, however, that we keep the autonomy of the individual schools.”
“I thank the Senator for her question. Bus escorts who travel on school buses do amazing work and have huge responsibility, but they love their job. I meet them on a number of mornings during the week and see the work they are doing. The Senator asked about pay for those working in special schools. I know full well the extraordinary work being done in special schools the length and breadth of the country by school leadership, teachers and SNAs. Of course, we have the discussion about the co-ordination of the buses. Personally, I am not in favour of putting an overarching body over a number of special schools and then having that centralised because the autonomy has to be within the school. There is such a huge cohort and a strong unit within the special schools.”
“Where I come from at the other side of the county, in a particularly rural part of the world, I would nearly call Youghal a city. That being said, I will continue to work with the Deputy.”
“One thing we can be exceptionally proud of is the education system we have developed over 100 years. It has served us extremely well. The more investment we can put into education - the Deputy mentioned this in relation to special classes, but into all education, whether it is in disadvantaged areas or whatever - the better. It is a great leveller in terms of giving people the best possible chance. The DEIS programme looks at making sure pupils stay in school and get the best possible outcomes from school. That may be difficult in some circumstances but we will work with the Deputy. If the Deputy puts in the full details, we will respond accordingly. There is just one thing. The Deputy mentioned Youghal being rural.”
“I will certainly pass on the comments to the Minister. She brings a wealth of experience because she served in the role I am in now quite recently so has a good understanding and has hit the ground running on these issues. It is not right. We are putting forward a programme and there is huge commitment by the Government. A total of €180 million is being put into this matter currently and more money will be pumped into it again this year and again in 2027. That shows that the Government, including the Minister, and the Department of education understand the positive benefits of DEIS for school communities and, more importantly, how it has helped students and given them the best possible chance in life. I constantly say it. We have done this continuously in Ireland.”
“It will be announced in the coming weeks. The Deputy can rest assured that I will take on board the points he made about the Gaelscoil and feed them back to the Department.”
“Any future changes to the identification model and overall allocation of resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS strategy. The new strategy will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that schools receive the right level of support at the right time. The Deputy mentioned Youghal. There were strict criteria for getting DEIS status. We understand the importance of DEIS status. The Deputy made the case for the Gaelscoil in Youghal. I will take it on board and take it back. A huge amount of work by the Minister and the Department has gone into the new strategy to make sure it comes forward and I welcome it.”
“DEIS urban band 2 schools also face significant need and receive a broad range of supports, including reduced pupil-teacher ratios, additional school grants, access to the home school community liaison scheme, the school completion programme, literacy and numeracy initiatives and targeted attendance and retention measures. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, is committed to tackling educational disadvantage in all schools to ensure all children can reach their full potential. To this end, a new ten-year DEIS strategy to 2035 will be published in the coming weeks. The new strategy will introduce innovative solutions to address educational disadvantage and to continue to address the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools.”
“Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16.5 million, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of a new DEIS strategy and to introduce the DEIS plus scheme, which will commence this year. Schools that were included in the expansion of the programme in 2022 were those with the highest concentration of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, as identified through the refined DEIS identification model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme. The model was applied equitably to all schools - I will come back to that in a few moments - including those already in the DEIS programme to ensure that they were in the band that best addressed their level of disadvantage. Urban primary schools with the highest levels of disadvantage were assigned to urban band 1.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Gaelscoil in Youghal. This falls under the remit of my senior Minister, Deputy Naughton, so I am taking it on her behalf. Educational disadvantage is a key priority for the Minister, the rest of the Government and me. The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative for addressing concentrated disadvantage at school level. Supplementing universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a fair and targeted way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and meets the needs of children and young people. Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching almost 260,000 students, with an annual investment of over €180 million.”
“The intention and decision taken by the Government was that that would be rolled out to special classes and on to mainstream schools to ensure that children who have additional educational needs get the best possible supports at school time. This is because it will serve not just the students and their families but society well into the future.”
“I reassure him that we will be working with those notifications both prior to and after 1 October to make sure we have the best possible supports in place. There is a huge demand for special education teachers, support teachers and SNAs within the system. We have almost 25,000 SNAs working within educational services at the moment. We need to make sure that students who need specialised education are getting the best possible supports. I genuinely believe that the State will now put in the proper supports while they are of schoolgoing age. Last week, we announced education therapy services for 45 special schools.”
“I reassure the Deputy that the NCSE, the Department and ourselves meet on a weekly basis. We have 300 extra classes - 301 to be specific - sanctioned this year for the 2026-27 school year. That is four months earlier than it was previously because, as I outlined, we want to ensure that we have certainty and give information earlier to families. That is very welcome but we also have to work through a number of tranches of special classes to be announced over the next number of weeks. I assure the Deputy we are looking at notifications prior to 1 October. I explained why we brought 1 October forward in the summer and I thank the Deputy's party for welcoming it because it gave a sense we were going to have better planning.”
“I assure the Deputy we will be working very closely with all families to make sure we can provide the best possible place for them in the 2026-27 school year. The responsibility for that role is something that I take extremely seriously. In my engagement right across the country over the last 12 months, we have visited many schools, as the Deputy outlined. Many of them are looking for additional classes but many have additional classes and are doing amazing work in relation to this. The Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, and her predecessor, Deputy Helen McEntee, and I have worked extremely closely to ensure we are doing the right thing for children and their families. We have engaged with all Deputies right across the House in making sure the concerns they have, quite rightly, in representing families are brought to our attention.”
“We very much felt this time last year that we were too late within the school year to have identified the children that would have special educational needs at both special classes and special schools. After my appointment this time last year, one of the first decisions we made was to bring in the new 1 October deadline, so that we would have sight of the challenges we have earlier in the school year. That has brought huge benefit to us in terms of the numbers and forward planning. Like previous governments, we have been berated in relation to forward planning but we are doing a huge amount of forward planning. There has been engagement by both the Department and the NCSE with the patron bodies and school authorities right through the summer and beyond. A number of families have come to the NCSE post 1 October.”
“Seven of these schools are in County Galway and are educating 352 students with more complex educational needs. These schools are supported by the Department and the NCSE, National Council for Special Education. The NCSE has a clear picture of local demand for special class places for 2026-27 and is reviewing the information. As the Deputy quite rightly outlined, we have a number of announcements in relation to County Galway. I thank the school authorities, the patrons and the management of the schools for their engagement with the NCSE and our Department in relation to this. The NCSE and ourselves will be working very closely with families either before or after 1 October. To be very clear, 1 October was the deadline we brought forward this year. In 2025, the notification date was 1 February.”
“I understand fully the need for specialised provision of education across Galway. The Deputy is quite right. I did visit St. Oliver's and Esker National School recently. I know the points he made in relation to St. Vincent's and the work being done by Ability West. The Deputy also raised an issue here, even though I did not directly respond to it, in relation to equine therapy and the equine centre. I understand that and welcome his interest in it. I will give a small bit of context and then deal with a number of the issues. In County Galway, there are 180 special classes that are now operating providing capacity for over 1,080 students. This includes 12 new special classes for the 2025-26 school year. In addition, 16 new special schools have been established around the country over the last while.”
“The Government has announced the first tranche of schools, which means that there is clear guidance as to what projects will be going ahead in the near future. It is our intention to review that continuously. It is important for school communities that are anxious to proceed with their projects to submit any outstanding documentation to the Department as soon as possible. The Department will work with school communities, but it must operate within financial constraints. The Senator's engagement with the Tánaiste and the Ministers for public expenditure and for education will be helpful. We understand the need that exists out there and will be working to meet it. We had to give certainty as to what projects are going ahead in a timely fashion. We will work with schools on the other projects to make sure that their paperwork is in order.”
“I welcome Senator Kyne's engagement. It is hugely important that we continue, right across Government and the Oireachtas, to articulate the issues that are important to our communities, including those relating to the Bish. The Senator is right in saying that there is still some work to be done by the school community. That work needs to be done as a matter of urgency. The documentation to be submitted as part of the stage 2b process is very detailed but there are many great firms working with schools on them. It is important that this is done as a matter of urgency. The Senator's engagement on this will certainly help matters. The Department will work with him and the community, but it is most important that the 2b report is submitted. The Department will liaise back and forth with the school authorities, patron and management.”
“This project has been under discussion for quite some time. We announced the first tranche of schools in the Department last week. There will be ongoing engagement right across Government in this regard. In relation to the Bish, or St. Joseph's, it is important that there is no delay. When details are received within the Department, the matter will be looked at, particularly in light of the pressures that exist within the community in Galway. I have answered a number of questions in Seanad Éireann over the past while in terms of the growing demand for school places in Galway. We are acutely aware of it. It is important that there is no delay. I assure the Senator that it will be given serious consideration when the relevant documentation is submitted to the Department.”
“Everybody understands at this stage that we will be advancing special education as a major issue within this. To cut to the chase, a huge amount of work has been done on this project on the ground with Department officials and Ministers over a number of years to bring it to fruition. The major development construction project is there. It is important that the school authorities submit the stage 2b architectural design report. As I alluded to, that will be in quarter 1. They should make sure that there is no delay in this regard. I know the Senator will be working with the school community to ensure that as well. We will be working to go through the various processes in the Department when it comes through. The Department is well aware of the challenges and the need to make sure we are getting value for money.”