An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I fully appreciate the work that the Every Child Matters campaign is doing. I support advocacy for children with additional needs. I have made the point that the Government has allocated an additional €646 million on top of the €3 billion already provided for special education. That has resulted in 34,000 students enrolling in special classes and special schools this year, an increase of 86%. Right across education, the increases have been quite staggering in meeting the demands. We then have the new in-school therapy programme that is under way, 16 new special schools and significant capital investment. About 70% of all special schools have either had work carried out, or it is currently being carried out, or it is under way in terms of the planning and design of that. Therefore, I do not think anyone can objectively say that every single effort is not being made. It is being made in respect of special education and other services also.

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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