The government must urgently intervene to prevent children from being denied appropriate school places despite clear assurances given by the Minister for Education that this would not happen, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins.
Speaking in response to reports of an autistic child being refused a special school place because his parents contacted the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) shortly after the newly introduced October 1st deadline, despite the child meeting the criteria and suitable school places were available, Deputy Cummins said this situation has become all too familiar.
“This is exactly the situation the government told parents would not happen – in June, I sought and received explicit assurances from the then Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, that children who received a diagnosis or eligibility letter after the October deadline would still be supported.
“That reassurance has now been completely undermined by what we are seeing on the ground.
“On June 18th, I directly questioned the Minister in Committee about how the deadline would affect families still waiting for diagnoses, a reality for thousands of parents due to chronic assessment delays.
“Minister McEntee responded by stating that children outside the timeline would still be encouraged to come forward, and that supports would continue after October 1st.
“This commitment has not been honoured. A parent can do everything right, wait years for an assessment, follow medical advice, engage with schools, and still be told their child cannot access a place because of an arbitrary deadline.
“That is not forward planning – it’s tying families up in red tape.
“The policy is being applied in a rigid manner, which is in direct contradiction to ministerial statements, as exemplified by the case of the family who contacted the NCSE just after the deadline.
“This isn’t a grey area – the Minister said children would continue to be supported after October 1st, yet here we have a child being denied a suitable school place purely because of timing.
“Families were given reassurances in good faith, but they’ve been misled. They acted on what Ministers told them. Now they are paying the price, and so are their children.
“I’m calling on the government to immediately issue clear direction to the NCSE to ensure that children who receive diagnoses or eligibility letters after the deadline are not excluded from accessing appropriate education.
“Deadlines cannot matter more than children. If government reassurances are to be worth anything, they must be reflected in real decisions.”
January 14th, 2026