The NCSE is the national agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. This year, the NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year, bringing to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. There are new classes in every county in Ireland and, with the number of special classes doubling in the last five years, this now means that there are more classes than ever ensuring greater numbers of children can access places, most importantly, in their local schools. Combined with 300 new special school places, this brings to 2,700 the number of new school places for children with special educational needs. The additional capacity, together with the movement of children across existing classes, means that my Department and the NCSE have created more capacity than required for the children known to the NCSE by the deadline of February 2025. The NCSE has advised me that, outside Dublin, all children known to it by the February deadline who require a special class placement at primary and post-primary level have received a place. The NCSE is working intensively with the parents of a small number of children in the Dublin area who are seeking a special class or special school placement, and with the schools concerned to finalise the arrangements for the 2025-2026 school year. In addition, the NCSE is working closely with parents who came forward after the February deadline to support them into available class placements. It will always be the case, no matter what deadline is put in place, that there will be children who do not meet it. We are therefore working actively to make sure those children have a place identified for them. Asking parents to engage early with the NCSE when seeking a special placement has enhanced the NCSE’s capacity to plan and make timely provision in local areas. Therefore, for the 2026-2027 school year we are asking families to engage by 1 October 2025 - four months earlier than this year - to support this planning further and allow the NCSE to sanction classes much quicker. The NCSE will be actively communicating this requirement nationally. An additional 768 teaching and 1,600 SNA posts were provided in budget 2025 to support schools in this endeavour and all schools have been notified of their allocations for the coming school year.

Sentiment score: 0.48

Since we last spoke at the committee, significant progress has been made. Every week, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I, meet with the NCSE to make sure that more places are being offered. Just under 3,300, as I said previously, were notified before the February deadline. The number after that, to be honest, is changing. Every week, more children are coming to the attention of the NCSE. In the context of the February deadline, the majority of the children involved are being supported in placements in mainstream schools, with extra support, special classes or special schools, as necessary. Outside Dublin, places have been identified for children. A small number of allocations are still being made in the context of the enrolment process. Within Dublin, a very small number of special classes and special school places are being worked through. The number changes every time we speak. What I can say is that there are more places than there is need. That has been identified. That includes those who are coming forward. Our intention is that by September, every child will know where they are going and will have a place. That is what is actively being worked on.

Sentiment score: 0.23

I utterly reject the suggestion that parents are being gaslit. There has never been as much engagement with parents through the NSCE to support them. I accept that a small number of children still do not have their places. We are working on that. We will work all summer to make sure they have their places allocated to them. Parents and schools are being engaged with throughout all of this. The Department and the NCSE are working with schools. I acknowledge the many schools that are providing additional places, classrooms and capacity, even as we speak. The 400 new classes have now become 407. It is absolutely the case that in some areas where schools have been sanctioned for perhaps two classrooms, it is now one or even one classroom and it is not needed. That is simply on the basis that, in the context of the overall level need, a decision was taken that it was not necessary. That is not to say that next year a school might not be approved and, obviously, the classroom would open. It is important that we are able to plan. That is why the deadline is there. It does not mean that children outside of the deadline are going to be excluded. If we have to put a structure in place to make sure that we have a good sense of exactly what the need is, where children should be and where their local schools are, however, that is the most important thing outside of all of this. We will be working all summer. The NCSE is working over the summer to make sure that every child will have their place for September.

Sentiment score: 0.11

Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector. It was published in September 2024. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a platform for an effective, data-driven and joined-up approach to the delivery of youth work and related services. The implementation of the strategy will be reported on via the Young Ireland governance structures. The implementation of this strategy, and the co-operation of all relevant actors, will be supported via a new national youth sector reference group, as well as a group with representatives from Departments and agencies that provide funding to, or interact with, the youth sector. This is being established. Importantly, this group will provide an opportunity for young people to engage. I have asked the Department, at the earliest opportunity, to make sure we reach as many young people as possible, in particular those who would not necessarily engage with structures such as this. Since the transfer of responsibility for this matter to the Department on 1 May, I have included actions in the recently published education plan to bring forward these structures and have had my first meetings with the national youth organisations. I have met the umbrella organisations and had good engagement with them. They are very keen to ensure they have an active role in the implementation of the strategy. I am also keen that they have this active role. I have set out that the Department will revert to stakeholders in the coming period on draft implementation arrangements for the strategy, including consultation and the engagement structures. Work is progressing well on delivery of several of the actions for which the Department has lead responsibility. We are still working on the full implementation plan, but the actions have not been paused. We are not waiting to move ahead. Under Action 7, a workforce survey was developed in late 2024 and disseminated to youth workers to establish baseline data and information. This data is being analysed at present. In March this year a questionnaire issued to youth organisations to provide the Department with a more in-depth understanding of the challenges experienced by youth organisations in workforce recruitment and retention. These are coming through clearly from the organisations. Under Action 8, departmental officials have begun work on a review of the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme. The review will assess how the scheme operates, the extent to which the scheme is meeting its objectives, and whether the processes and procedures that underpin the scheme are fit for purpose. Ten new UBUs will be supported this year and we are working through the applications we have received.

Sentiment score: 0.29

I acknowledge, as the Deputy has, the fantastic work done by our youth workers. So much of it is unseen, and it contributes. We have spoken here many times about challenges in school and making sure children are in school. Youth workers in particular support bringing people back to school and making sure they are happy and they are active. My role and my intention, now that youth is under the remit of the Department of education, is that we create these links and make them even stronger. I know it is something Deputy Cummins is passionate about, not only for DEIS schools and in disadvantaged areas but for young people. My objective through the youth strategy is that as many young people as possible have access to these services. There is often an assumption it is more urban areas or more built-up areas where young people need access to services. People living in the most rural part of the country might need access to a service. In the context of the new UBU services, my focus is to try to make sure we have a geographical spread. I will be able to give Deputy Cummins timelines on the various stages of implementation once the plan is fully formed. We are actively working to make sure, between now and the end of when the strategy is set, that everybody knows what they are doing and what their timeline is and making sure, most importantly, that they stick to it.

Sentiment score: 0.30

There is a body of work still to do on just this and identifying where are the gaps. This is separate work that is happening in the Department on mapping exactly where the services are and what types of services are being provided. This is so we can identify where the gaps are and link up better with the education portfolio and identify what resources are needed. I want to make sure current funding increases as much as possible. There is approximately €85 million between current and capital funding provided for our youth services at present. I want to see this increased, not only from the current perspective but also on the capital side. I think of youth organisations in my own county of Meath. They are doing phenomenal work but they are working in old buildings that were not made for this particular purpose and are not fit for it. It is important to support them to upgrade, modernise or identify new spaces, where possible. We must also make sure we have the workers. It is a really important objective of mine to use the workforce plan to identify not only how to attract more people into the profession, but also how to keep the really fantastic workers that are there.

Sentiment score: 0.21

In line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, my Department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. I share the Deputy's concern. We all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do. While there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory, my Department is mindful that we need a flexible approach to giving students opportunities for immersive experiences in the Irish language outside of school. These must take into account the needs, preferences and geographical location of students. As someone who attended Gaeltacht courses numerous times when I was younger, I see the many benefits they have for our young people. I support the provision of activities through Irish outside school hours. I intend to publish an action plan for Irish in English-medium schools and commence its implementation. This builds on the work of a new unit established within the Department in 2024 to support the teaching and learning of Irish in schools that function through English. The plan is built on the structure of our earlier Gaeltacht plan, which has really enhanced and strengthened the teaching of Irish in our Gaeltacht regions. I want to make sure that the plan for the teaching of Irish in English-medium schools is just as successful. In consultation with relevant organisations, my Department is exploring how children’s and young people’s use of Irish outside of school can be facilitated through increasing awareness of the opportunities currently available, encouraging student participation in these activities and extending these opportunities, where possible. We are particularly focusing on making it fun and enjoyable and ensuring it does not feel like a challenge, as it does for many children in school. With regard to Gaeltacht summer courses, my Department’s inspectorate provides advice and monitors and reports on matters relating to teaching, learning and general quality. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht supports and promotes Irish language summer courses in Gaeltacht regions in a number of ways. Under scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, the Irish language learners scheme, a subsidy is payable to qualifying Gaeltacht households providing accommodation for students attending Irish language courses.

Sentiment score: 0.42

I mentioned a strategy that is being developed. The plan is to finalise that in the coming weeks. It builds on extensive consultation that took place at national and school stakeholder levels between January and May of this year. We met almost 200 participants at a national level and over 500 participants at school level. The consultation showed that, exactly as the Deputy pointed out, children and young people wanted to be able to speak Irish. They wanted to be able to speak it outside of school as well. It is important that we have a multifaceted and flexible approach to giving students different opportunities for immersive experiences. The only way to learn a language is to be immersed in it - listening to it, speaking it and hearing it. That is not what happens in our schools, except for Gaeltacht schools, Gaelcholáistí and Gaelscoileanna. The action plan is looking at how we can create that for young people. Separately, the review of the leaving certificate is happening at the moment. While the specifications for Irish have not been finalised, that work is under way. We have to look at the changes that took place at junior cycle level. We have to learn from those, identify what has worked and what has not worked, and make sure any changes to our leaving certificate senior cycle curriculum encourage, support and make Irish enjoyable for our learners. That is what I have asked the objective to be.

Sentiment score: 0.15

The Deputy is right that the current requirement for the mandatory tréimhsí foghlama sa Ghaeltacht, the Gaeltacht learning periods for primary initial teacher education programmes, is the two-week placement. This is outlined in the Teaching Council's policy, entitled "Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education". The funding was provided for that in budget 2020. The grant rate is set at about €845 per placement and the cost is about €2.3 million. That is not something that has always been in place and the fund was not available previously but it has now been provided for. Any provision of funding for post-primary teachers would have to be negotiated through the budget. I fully take on board the Deputy's point. If we want young people to have that immersive experience, their teachers need to get the best training possible at every level, not just at primary level. We must make sure that our post-primary teachers have that access as well. It will have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.

Sentiment score: 0.19