6 days ago
Record number of special schools sanctioned in Dublin for upcoming school year, cabinet to hear
Earlier this year, Ms McEntee sanctioned 400 additional special classes across the country for the 2025/2026 school year, which will create spaces for 2,700 children with special educational needs (SENs).
Last month, Ms McEntee told the Dáil that while 92pc of children identified as in need of school place had been allocated one, Dublin remained a challenge.
'We have an outline of all the counties and where there are larger numbers, there are clear pathways. The challenge we still have - I do not think anybody has denied this - is with Dublin,' the minister said in June.
Today, the minister will inform cabinet that 400 new special classes will be provided for the upcoming school year and of these, 98 will be in Dublin and will provide places for an additional 588 students.
Ms McEntee will also tell cabinet her plans to sanction school places for September 2026, with the vast majority of new classes to be sanctioned by the end of December this year.
This, the minister will tell colleagues, will give parents greater certainty before the academic year and also provide schools with more time to plan and establish those new classes.
Cabinet will also be given an update on progress on the Education Therapy Service, which will see therapists working in special schools.
The minister will inform cabinet that a recruitment campaign will begin soon to recruit both Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists for the service.
These therapists will be recruited by the National Council for Special Education and will be offered the same terms and conditions as therapists working in the HSE.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Mary Butler will inform cabinet that the compensation scheme put in place following the Maskey Report into specialist services in South Kerry Camhs.
Published in 2022, the Maskey review examined the treatment of children attending Camhs in south Kerry and found the care received by 240 young people did not meet the standards it should have.
While significant harm was caused to 46 children and young people, the review found.
A state scheme was set up in the aftermath of the report, which has had a very high level of uptake, cabinet will be told.
A total of 230 applications have been made to the scheme. Of 83 of these applications which have gone to mediation so far, 74 have concluded in settlement.
The remainder of the applications are awaiting a determination or are adjourned and expected to resume.
Ms Butler will tell cabinet that the scheme has meant that children and families have experienced a resolution without having to go through an adversarial court process.
A separate review by Dr Collette Halpin into the care of children in North Kerry CAMHS is now being finalised and the Department of Health is awaiting the submission of the final report of that review.
