An additional 36 special classes have been sanctioned to open in mainstream schools from this coming September.
It brings the total number of new classes approved to open for the next academic year to 387.
The Government has promised a total of 400 additional classes, catering for 2,400 children. All but one of the new classes will cater for students with autism.
The National Council for Special Education has said it is prioritising the sanctioning of classes in schools that have available accommodation.
This includes all of the 36 new classes announced today, 19 of which are in primary schools with 17 at post primary level.
This is in contrast with the situation in one Dublin primary school. The first of Finglas Parochial School's two special classes for children with autism was sanctioned in late 2024.
However, while 12 children enrolled in these two classes last October, they remain without any dedicated classrooms, effectively homeless, and have been obliged to attend school only part-time.
The school has no physical space for the classes and planning difficulties mean it will be at least a year before two new modular builds are delivered.
In the meantime the children, all junior infants, are only attending school for two to two-and-a-half hours daily as the school rotates use of the nearby parochial hall.
Principal Rachel Adams said the school is "devastated" for the parents.
Teachers have to set up and dismantle the 'classroom’ in the hall every day, because the hall is used by other local groups too. They have no specialised sensory or toileting or other facilities for the children.
One parent, Rebecca Clarke, explained how she had to reduce her working hours in order to manage her son Arlo’s shorter school day.
"I had to come down to part-time and I have to work a weekend day so I can bring him to school. We've had to change our life dramatically, trying to find someone to mind him. It’s not easy."
Parent Lynsey Eliot told RTÉ News that her life has been put on hold for the same reason.
Parents explained how they thought securing a school place for their child might provide relief from their constant struggle for supports for their children.
"Before we got a place hear I had 50 plus refusals [from other schools]. It was a huge battle and I was jumping for joy but the reality is it has just been a nitemare," mother of five-year-old Billie, Lynsey Eliot said.
"We're not looking for a brand-new concrete building", said another parent Marie Larkin, whose daughter Abbie is in one of the special classes. "We’re just looking for a space for our daughter.
Speaking of their ongoing struggle she said "it's everything, since she was born".
"We had to pay for a private assessment. She was two years on awaiting list. She has received any therapy. We’re just asking for one little thing which is that Abbie can have a place at school like every other child".
At least 400 additional special classes are due to open this September. But the demand appears to be even greater still, with the Taoiseach signalling in the Dáil that the number of applications for specialised school places received by a preliminary 1 October deadline had been "over and above anything contemplated".
The data gathered by 1 October and since is being processed and the Department of Education and Youth has said it will provide an update on the figures when that work is done.
The 36 additional classes announced are the fifth tranche to be approved. Seven of the newly approved classes are in Dublin, five are in Cork with another five in Limerick.
Counties Kildare and Kilkenny have both had four additional classes special classes sanctioned.
The department said almost 3,000 new special education placements would be created for September 2026. This includes additional places in special schools. These places are in addition to placements created due to the natural movement of students, such as those transitioning from primary to post primary or those completing school.
"In order to ensure new special classes can open as quickly as possible the NCSE is prioritising working with medium and larger primary schools who do not already have a special class and have available accommodation to accommodate new special class," it said.
"This approach maximises the use of existing space which can be reconfigured efficiently while also ensuring that new provision continues to be established."
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It said approximately 80% of all new special classes are being provided in schools with existing accommodation.
"The Department is supporting those schools with additional grant funding to facilitate any necessary re-purposing works.
Where schools require additional accommodation, usually in the form of modular accommodation, this is being fast-tracked by the department to be delivered as quickly as possible," it added.
Parents at Finglas Parochial will meet with public representatives this evening to decide their next steps. Local councillor Conor Reddy, who also founded a local branch of special needs support group Equality in Education, said the current situation was totally unacceptable.
"Delivering school places and building projects is the responsibility of the State, not principals or boards of management. The Minister and the NCSE must ensure any classes sanctioned are delivered when they are needed and as announced," the People Before Profit councillor said.
"Announcements of new classes without clear plans for delivery are deeply cynical and cruel to children with additional needs and their families," he added.
Listen back: Additional special classes have been sanctioned to open in mainstream schools from this coming September
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