Parents of children who need special education places protested outside the Department of Education last week over the lack of availability
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that “funding is not an issue” contributing to the lack of special education places for children with additional needs.Parents of children who need special education places protested outside the Department of Education last week over the lack of availability.
Last September, the Ombudsman for Children’s report suggested there were at least 126 autistic children with no school place. In the Dáil on Wednesday, both Labour leader Ivana Bacik and Social Democrats’ acting leader Cian O’Callaghan raised the issue with the Taoiseach. Mr Martin said 11 new special schools have been established since 2020 and five new schools, as well as 400 extra special classes, will open for the new academic year. He said: “I want to ensure there is a proper system in the years to come whereby parents will know in the previous academic year where their child will attend second level for the subsequent academic year. “Parents are going through too much in terms of endeavouring to find a school place or navigating the therapy support services that children require. The population growth in the number of children with special needs is significant. “Funding has significantly increased. The number of additional places, teachers and SNAs has increased dramatically. That is no comfort or consolation to those parents who do not have a place or access to services, but it needs to be said.”The Taoiseach said that it will be “made clear” to the Department of Education and different agencies that there must be “forward planning”.Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
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