Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Already this year we allocated a further €646 million on top of €3 billion to cater for the extra demand in special classes and places for special education. We took that decision earlier this year when the full scale of the demand revealed itself through the parents notify system and we were not found wanting in coming up with close to €700 million to deal with that. We will continue to do that. The Deputy made the point about Stapolin national school. That is a new school. I think it moved into a new school building in 2023. It includes purpose-built special education facilities, two special classes, a central activity room, a sensory room and two quiet rooms. It also benefits from additional accommodation, including special education teaching rooms, a library, a multi-purpose room and so on. The school has applied for two additional classrooms. My understanding is that this is currently being considered by the Department's building unit. The vast majority of children who were originally on the waiting list have since secured placements in special classes within the local area or neighbouring areas in Dublin's northside.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29