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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“Yes, the submission has been with the Department since March. These reviews take time. I do not have a specific date for the Deputy but I will endeavour to get that information to her as a matter of priority. Both the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I will follow up to ensure that it is done as speedily as possible. I will endeavour to come back to Deputy Connolly with that timeline and a report as to how the process is going through the Department.”
“As part of the NDP review process, the Department is engaging with the Department of public expenditure with respect to NDP allocations for the period 2026 to 2030. It is expected that there will be clarity on these allocations over the course of the summer, allowing the Department to plan its capital investment programme for the 2026 to 2030 period in line with prioritised needs and reflecting, as appropriate, wider Government priorities.”
“Once this is complete, the next step will be a meeting of all stakeholders regarding the stage submission report. Since 2020, the Department has invested more than €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, NDP, involving the completion of almost 1,400 school building projects. The Government's support for this investment has delivered real benefits for school communities. A recent Government decision has approved €210 million in supplementary capital funding for the Department to support the provision of special education accommodation and meet school place needs. This brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for the Department to €1.6 billion.”
“At the outset, I recognise this project has been ongoing for some time. The major building project for the school referred to by Deputy Connolly will provide a new 16-classroom primary school with additional classrooms for pupils with special education needs. Following planning conditions imposed in 2018, a redesign was necessary. At that point, additional capacity was added to the school and subsequent planning was achieved in September 2023. The project is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, stage 2(b), detailed design, where the design team has secured all statutory applications and is preparing the suite of tender documents. The stage 2(b) submission was received by the Department in March 2025 for review by the multidisciplinary team. This is under way.”
“We are trying to make sure that it is done early every year but in some of the information that we correlated over the past while, where there were some vacancies in some schools and children were travelling long distances away from those communities, if we are genuinely serious about making sure we have inclusivity, we have to tackle those issues and go under the bonnet to see what the challenges are and how we can make it more inclusive. I take the point on it but it is important we utilise every space available to make sure we have the most appropriate place for children. The schools have engaged. We will continue to engage with the stakeholders because we need everybody on board in relation to these projects.”
“Most of the 30 mild general learning schools have worked extremely well with the National Council for Special Education over the past while to broaden their profile and to accept students with autism and more complex educational needs. Both the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I have worked extraordinarily hard over the past number of months on making sure that we have a place for every child in September. That is a fundamental issue.”
“We want to continue that but we want serious engagement as well. It is also important that we accommodate children as locally as possible to their own community.”
“I take the point, but it is important that special schools, special classes and special places for children with additional needs are as local as possible to pupils' own communities. In various debates on special education, we constantly talk about people who are travelling long distances, be that in urban or rural Ireland, for those places. That is something we really are very serious about tackling. On students with mild general learning disabilities, the experience over the past 20 years regarding mainstreaming is that a lot of it has been very successful. Yes, there are children whose needs will not be met in mainstream schools and we want to ensure we have that for them. We want real engagement with stakeholders because many of the schools throughout the country, as the Deputy has mentioned, are doing extraordinary work.”
“The National Council for Special Education reports that over half of these mild general learning disability special schools have been diversified, which means children with more complex needs can enrol in their local special school. I thank the schools that have worked with us to broaden their designation. The Department will continue to support schools in this endeavour so that more special schools can better support children with complex needs in their local community. Approximately 30 of the 129 special schools were originally designated as schools for children with mild general learning disability. The establishment of these special schools predated the significant expansion of supports offered in mainstream schools through additional special education teachers and the resources of special needs assistants.”
“It is not the intention to exclude children who require special school places from accessing certain special school settings, but instead to work to ensure children with complex educational needs can apply to their own local school. The Deputy will agree that situations are arising where children with additional needs are travelling past special schools in their locality to attend special schools farther away. This is not fair on children or their families. This is down to the fact that children cannot apply for admission to their local special school simply because they do not meet the narrow designation of that specific school. This needs to be addressed and the Department is looking to engage with stakeholders in that regard. This is not a new departure.”
“I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government is committed to the provision of additional special school places for children with more complex educational needs. Over 300 new special school places are being provided for in the coming school year, 2025-26. Five new special schools are being established in addition to 11 new special schools having opened over the past five years. Special school capacity is also being expanded in a number of special schools. Along with providing additional special school capacity, the Department and the National Council for Special Education are considering that it may be necessary to look at the profile of our existing special schools.”
“We are currently looking at all the information we got by the end of April and the information regarding payment and where we will need to put on buses that we got by last Friday. That work between the Department and Bus Éireann is proceeding at pace because we need to get it done in the next three weeks. We will be talking about it. I will endeavour to work with the Senator to try to find a resolution to the specific issue she has asked me about. Her points are well made. We will go back under the bonnet to see what the issues with it are. We will work on the figures we have. It will be a number of weeks before everything is in place but we will work to find a satisfactory solution to the challenges and issues the Senator has found. If she liaises with me and my team over the coming weeks, we will work with her to find a solution.”
“We can then see what type of service to put in place. It is very important that applications are made. The challenge we have is that applications for this year concluded last Friday. Over the next three weeks, we will be correlating the information and figures to determine how to roll out the system over the next two months, by the last week of August. There is a lot of work going on between the Department and Bus Éireann. We have had regular meetings. We had a briefing in the audiovisual room a number of weeks ago that was very well attended by Members of the Houses from across the parties and their teams. This service is very important for all families and students around the country. I will just say that in this instance. I might reply further in my final statement.”
“Eligible children who complete the application process and pay or enter their medical card details on time will get a seat on a bus service if such a service is available. Children who are not eligible for school transport but who complete the application and pay or enter their medical card details on time will be considered for any spare seats. These are known as concessionary seats. In the few minutes I have available to me, I will just say this. From the school of dear experience, I know that we should encourage people to make applications. I have been following this in my own local area since being appointed to this role. Even if there is no service available, we should encourage people to make an application. If that threshold of ten pupils is then met, we are obliged to put a service in place.”
“While the closest school may be full to capacity at present, each family must supply to the school transport section of the Department of Education and Youth an application for enrolment made within the deadline dates specified by the school and a letter from each of the school authorities confirming that the school was full. Contact details for the section can be found on the Department's website at https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/services/school-transport. A minimum number of ten eligible children residing in a district locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, who have applied and paid or entered their medical card details are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.”
“Bus Éireann has advised that children residing in Kildare town are not eligible for transport to the Curragh Community College as they are not attending their nearest post-primary school. It further advises that there is no existing service from Kildare town to this school. In cases where families have applied to attend their nearest school, with regard to ethos and language, and have been advised by the school authorities that these schools are full, the Department will consider if the pupil is eligible for transport to the next nearest school.”
“I thank the Senator her very kind remarks. I will endeavour to live up to them. I will give it my best shot. It is a role I eagerly look forward to. I thank the Senator for her engagement on the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. She was extremely informed and extremely forthright in her views. I appreciate that and I appreciate her comments. I will go through the scheme first of all. Under the current terms of the post-primary school transport scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest post-primary school. Distance is determined by the Department and Bus Éireann and rules have regard to ethos and languages.”
“We are all horrified with what is happening across the region at the moment. "Horrified" does not even describe the revulsion that we feel on it. I take the points the Senator has made on the issue and I will certainly endeavour to get more up-to-date information for him.”
“The specific line in the reply is "there is no intention to purchase military equipment from Israel". This is an issue the Senator has been passionate about, not just for the past 18 or 20 months, but for a long time. Like him, we are horrified by what has happened. We have been to the forefront in the European Union in condemning what is happening in Israel for quite some time, and we are quite shocked by it. Where international politics are concerned, it is something we take very seriously. There is no intention to collaborate with Israel in what is happening, good, bad or indifferent. We have always been to the forefront in terms of the Israeli people as well, as has the Senator's family going back generations. For my party, going back to the late Brian Lenihan Snr., it is something we are very serious about.”
“Since the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, wherein the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, concluded that "the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful" and that "the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible", the Department has included provisions in its tender documentation regarding the right to reject offers from third countries, which include Israel, on defence and security grounds in line with the Commission's guidance on the procurement of defensive equipment under Directive 2009/18/EU. I will address further issues in my closing remarks.”
“Any future upgrade of equipment to achieve LOA 3 capability will be subject to a comprehensive review and a future Government decision. Specifically on the procurement of Israeli military technology, I can confirm that there is no intention to purchase military equipment from Israel.”
“While the Department does not comment on systems fitted to Air Corps aircraft for operational reasons, the H145M rotary wing aircraft comes fitted with the Helionix avionics suite, an avionics solution that is proprietary to Airbus. These systems are fitted on all modern civil and military aircraft to assist pilots to fly the aircraft safely and are not military specific. No missile capability is included in the contract to procure the four aircraft. No consideration is being given to such capability at the present time. However, the aircraft are future-proofed and capable of being upgraded to becoming missile-capable. Future missile capability is one of the elements considered within the enhanced Defence Forces capability level of ambition 3, LOA 3, as defined in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.”
“Their multirole capability means that the H145Ms will be equipped to satisfy a wide range of missions, including maritime security missions, utility missions, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, ISTAR, missions, and light attack missions. As well as enhancing the Defence Forces' current ISTAR capabilities, the aircraft will also provide enhanced electro-optical and thermal imagery features not available in the current rotary wing fleet. They will greatly improve the operational support provided to special operations forces - the Army Ranger wing - as well as provide broader support and utility across the Defence Forces' training and operations.”
“I am responding on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, who unfortunately cannot be present. I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter and I thank Senator Andrews for his question. In December 2024, the Department of Defence signed a contract for the delivery of four German-made Airbus H145M helicopters, which will provide a modern light utility helicopter capability for the Air Corps. They will replace the present aging fleet of two EC135s, which have reached the end of their useful service life. The value of the contract is €91.7 million, excluding VAT, and it is anticipated that delivery of the helicopters will begin on a phased basis in quarter 1 of 2027. The Airbus H145Ms represent a vast modernisation and expansion of light utility helicopter capability for the Air Corps over the present ageing fleet.”
“I will take the point that Senator Lynch made back to the Department. The challenge here is that relating to one person one payment. In 2000 or 2001, the half-rate carer’s payment was introduced. If memory serves, Seamus Brennan, who was the Minister at the time, brought it in. We will explore that. I want to put on the record the fact that the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025, concluded Second Stage in the Dáil on 27 March. Committee Stage is due to be taken on 25 June next. It is extremely important that Bill is passed because a huge number of families will benefit from it. They face the same challenges and difficulties, and it is important that we make sure the Bill is passed. I will to take the points made back to the Department and obtain a suitable response.”
“Previously, there was a discrepancy or an element of victimisation there. We are trying to put that right. The Senator’s point relates to the precedent involved. She asked whether something can be done if a spouse or partner dies and the pension is claimed on the basis of his or her PRSI contributions. In such circumstances, the surviving partner will continue to pay PRSI because they are working. If they have an accident or illness, they still have the same commitments. The Senator inquired if we might explore this matter in the context of social welfare legislation. I will take that back to the Department and ask that it be reviewed. There may be something we can do. We all come across these cases in our constituency work. They are challenging. I am not giving any carte blanche commitments, but I take the point the Senator made.”
“At that time, Joe Callanan, a former Deputy from Galway, and I proposed a motion to the effect that there should be a second payment for carers. That is how the half-rate carer's payment came in the noughties. We did a body of work in relation to it because many people were getting State pensions or social welfare payments and caring for loved ones such as siblings or children. The Government brought in the half-rate carer's payment at that stage. The point the Senator made in that context needs to be explored. If we are looking at the widow’s or widower's pension being paid on the basis of the PRSI contributions of a deceased spouse or partner, then we must consider what is involved. We made amendments to this pension, which were welcome. We all know of couples who have been in committed partnerships for 20 or 25 years.”
“It is great that we are discussing Cork North-West and these issues in general. I congratulate the Senator on her election and wish her every success. The Department has outlined the various schemes and payments - the pension payments and social welfare payments - the double jeopardy issues and so forth. Everybody understands what social welfare payments entail. All of us will have come across very genuine cases. The point the Senator made in relation to bereavement can come at any age. The Taoiseach recently stated that this would be looked at – he did not make any commitments - to see whether there is an anomaly in the system and if there is, how best we can work through it. On the half-rate carer's payment, this was an issue over 20 years ago.”
“We acknowledge the work being done by them, and also the points the Senator made, to make sure that we have funding channelled in the best way possible to achieve the best results for the players, for the association and for Ireland Inc.”
“I take the point. It is clear from the prepared script from the Department, and the House will know, that there is serious investment. Much work has been done with the FAI over the past number of years and we will continue to do so. It is an important sport in our communities, and it is important that we engage and encourage more people. The Senator referenced women’s participation, which is as important in this sport as in others. We have to liaise with the FAI. I also take the point on high performance and centres of excellence. We have to develop them in all communities so that it is spread right across the country. There is a great deal of work being done by football clubs the length and breadth of the country in challenging times in terms of raising funds and keeping the gates open.”
“There is a cohort of people who are outside of it and are finding it very difficult to get support from the State. We will reflect on that and will certainly ensure it is brought to discussion in respect of expanding the AIM programme into the future.”
“I thank the Deputy again for outlining the facts. The challenge we have, particularly in respect of the AIM programme, which has been very successful for a good number of families, is that when there is a closing-off date, there is always a challenge therein. As we go forward looking at how we can expand the AIM programme, in the evaluation of it that was announced last year, because of its success, it is important we are mindful that we are making meaningful change. It is not a case of just making the change for change's sake. We have to make sure it is evidence-based and that we have the facts to make decisions into the future on the AIM programme, to try to meet the needs of every child. The Deputy has outlined a group of parents, particularly the constituent he referred to and her family.”
“Families face enormous challenges during that very stressful period of dealing with the difficulties a child may have. We also need to be very careful of the emotional trauma around this and make sure we are addressing the needs of both the child and the family.”
“The AIM programme has been hugely beneficial in addressing the need of children within the early education setting but as with everything, there are challenges. The case outlined by the Deputy is one of the types of cases that I frequently meet throughout the country in the context of the challenges young families face. They have stark choices in what support they can reach out for. We are looking at bringing down the eligible age for the AIM programme. That would be a positive step. As for practical supports, the Deputy mentioned the incapacitated child tax credit. While that is a generous benefit and it has increased incrementally over the previous two or three budgets, which is to be welcomed, it should be kept under review. It still is not adequate for the challenges faced by many families, particularly those with young children.”
“Additional funding was allocated in budgets 2024 and 2025 to support this development. From September 2024, children with a disability who are enrolled in the ECCE programme are now fully supported to access and participate in the ECCE settings beyond the time they spend in that programme, both in term and out of term. This allows children to access the AIM programme for an additional three hours a day during the ECCE term and six hours outside of the term. The programme for Government commits to examining and expanding the AIM programme to make it available to younger children. This comes back to the question the Deputy asked. We are committed to working to ensure the programme expands.”
“Additional funding is available for ECCE settings where a child requires extra support either to reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the room or to fund an additional staff member as a shared resource with other children in the setting. Crucially, access to AIM is based on the need of an individual child and does not require a diagnosis. In line with the commitment in First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, an independent evaluation of AIM was undertaken. The purpose of this evaluation was to inform an extension of AIM beyond the ECCE programme as well as any potential enhancements to the model. The findings of the evaluation were published in January 2024 and informed the phased extension of the AIM programme.”
“I thank the Deputy for the question. I will outline the AIM programme although I understand the Deputy is well aware of it. The AIM programme is the model of support designated to ensure children with disabilities can access the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. The main supports are grouped into universal or targeted supports. The universal supports are designed to create a more inclusive culture in early education and care settings through training courses and qualifications for staff. Where universal supports are not enough to meet the needs of an individual child to ensure that the child can meaningfully participate in ECCE programmes, targeted supports are available, such as specialised equipment, appliances or capital grants toward minor building alterations.”
“I do take on board, however, what she has said and I will liaise with the Department on the points she has raised with me. I encourage St. Joseph's CBS to continue to liaise with the Department on emergency funding to ensure we at least tackle the emergency issues in the school in the first instance and then continue to work with the school to try to find solutions to all the issues it has at the school gate.”
“I again thank the Deputy for raising these issues. I note the concerns she has regarding the building in respect of damp, leaks, the toilet facilities and the other issues raised. I take them on board and I will be liaising with the Department in relation to what she outlined. It is greatly important. I understand and accept that St. Joseph's CBS in Drogheda is liaising with the emergency section of the Department. I emphasise it is important this communication channel is kept open so the best possible applications are made in relation to the immediate work we need to do with the challenges in the school. The Deputy mentioned issues with the boilers and their efficiency. She also mentioned the BER rating, and sometimes an awful lot of work must be done in this regard in schools.”
“I urge the school and the Deputy to continue to liaise with the Department on the emergency works so we will be able to help the school with the issues the Deputy outlined.”
“I should explain that applications for the provision of funding for issues related to an existing school can fall under a number of delivery mechanisms, which most frequently include the summer works and emergency works schemes. The purpose of the emergency works scheme is specifically to provide funding for unforeseen emergencies, thereby ensuring availability of funding for urgent works for schools in need of resources as a result of emergency issues. Regarding the specific school in question, the emergency works team in the Department of Education and Youth is currently engaging with the school on a number of issues and the option remains open to the school to apply for funding for a number of areas of immediate concern through this mechanism.”
“The general principles of the approach to school selection include that schools comply with their annual reporting obligations to the SEAI in respect of energy usage and energy monitoring and reporting scheme and that secondary schools demonstrate a strong holistic commitment to energy management practices through participation in the energy in education website portal and advice programme operated by the SEAI in collaboration with the Department of Education and Youth. The programme selection also seeks to include various cross-sections of school types and sizes, energy consumption profiles and different elements of construction type and heritage conservation requirements where specific learning is being targeted.”
“It is providing valuable development information for a solution-driven strategy which will be founded on a solid evidence base that has proved the robustness and scalability of renewable solutions in the school sector. In this context, the pathfinder programme operates on a selection basis, rather than through an application process . The pathfinder programmes for 2025 have already been committed to.”
“It is a priority for the Government to deliver on Ireland's ambitious climate agenda and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Department's school sector technical climate action roadmap which was published in 2023 and updated again last year, 2024. In that regard, the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment have developed a joint-funded school sector decarbonisation pathfinder programme. It is administered by the planning and building unit in the Department of Education and Youth and the SEAI in partnership with devolved delivery support from the Cork, Limerick and Clare, and Longford Westmeath education and training boards, ETBs. The pathfinder programme facilitates research into a range of typical retrofit options for schools which will be tried and tested.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. First, I will discuss the Department of Education and Youth school energy retrofit pathfinder programme. The Department is leading an ambitious sustainable agenda and has progressed a number of measures to improve the overall sustainability of our school buildings as part of our work towards the 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Its performance has been recognised at national and international levels with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design, specification and delivery. The Department's policy is supported by a strong research programme, with 56 research programmes at various stages.”
“I pay tribute to all bus drivers the length and breadth of the country for the work they do throughout the year and in the more challenging winter months. I assure the Deputy and the House that we will be working extremely hard over the next months to make sure we have the best information for families in as timely a fashion as possible.”
“The Deputy mentioned the over-70s and this issue has come up time out of number in many discussions on school bus systems and the challenges in it. The programme for Government has given a commitment that will be reviewed, and I would like to allow the review take place, so we have the best information possible, and we have data, opinion and a proper review. We will then make a decision on how to move forward. I take that point because it was raised a number of times at the briefing in the audiovisual room. I will continue to work on it. In school transport we have to pay tribute to Bus Éireann and the contractors. The contractors are a vitally integral part of it, as are the school bus drivers because they become part of the extended family.”
“The Deputy mentioned a couple of things. The closing date for payment or for medical card issues is 6 June, which is next Friday. Bus Éireann and the Department officials have assured me they will be working extremely hard for the three weeks after that to get the information together, to correlate it and to understand where the needs are and where the challenges are going to be met. A lot of work is going on and I pay tribute to the officials in the Department and Bus Éireann for their engagement with me over the past number of months since my appointment and I look forward to working with them on it. They have assured me they will be working on this, and we will be having weekly meetings to review it constantly to make sure we have the information for families as soon as possible. It is crucially important we do that.”
“I assure the Deputy that I will continue to monitor this with our officials in the Department and Bus Éireann to make sure we can make changes and make it as accessible as possible.”
“Officials from Bus Éireann and the Department of education came into the audiovisual room two weeks ago to meet Members of the Oireachtas. It was the first time they issued an open invitation to all Members of the Oireachtas, both TDs and Senators, in order that they could hear about the challenges being faced at the school gate from Members. I always say that, in our own office, school bus tickets become an issue from 15 August and continue to arise right through until the first or second week of October. There are huge challenges in this regard. The school transport system is so important because families are relying on it now, just as they did when free education was introduced. Transport was not as widely available at that time, however. With many families having two parents working now, it is hugely important.”