Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins has called on the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to provide urgent clarity and transparency on the true number of children in need of an appropriate school place.
Deputy Cummins, who is the party’s education spokesperson, said:
“It is deeply concerning that, six months on from the Department’s own deadline to assess demand for special education places, we still do not have a clear or honest picture of the scale of unmet need facing children and families.
“The Department of Education and the NCSE set an October 1 deadline last year for pupils to register as having additional needs in an effort to gauge demand. Based on this, the budget provided for approximately 5,500 school places, including 3,000 new places and 2,500 expected to become vacant.
“However, the reality showed that these projections were completely wide of the mark. A total of 7,860 children were registered as needing additional support – a significant underestimation of what was planned for.
“Since then, the system has been overwhelmed. The NCSE has been inundated with complaints from families, many of whom are facing long waiting times for assessments. In many cases, children are only receiving diagnoses or assessments just months before they are due to start school.
“Yesterday, we learned that only about 75 per cent of those who registered by October have been offered a school place. That leaves just under 2,000 children identified over six months ago as having special educational needs still without an appropriate place.
“This figure does not even account for the unknown number of additional children who have come forward since registrations reopened.
“This situation is unacceptable. Families have been left in limbo while the Government struggles to carry out even the most basic level of planning.
“The Department must now come forward with accurate, up-to-date figures on how many children are still without a suitable school place. We need real transparency, not estimates.
“Planning based on incomplete data is failing children. In future, there must be a more proactive and flexible system in place, one that reflects the lived experience of families and the delays inherent in assessment processes.
“No child should be left without an appropriate school place. The Government must urgently step up, acknowledge the true scale of need, and outline a credible plan to meet it.”
April 24, 2026