Primary schools all over the country are finding it difficult to get teachers, with the issue near crisis point in Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin. In fact, principals are finding it nearly impossible to provide the most basic educational service and that is just keeping classrooms open. This is causing significant problems for all pupils but particularly those with special needs. Earlier throughout Covid, those children were left behind because classrooms and education were not available to them.

What measures is the Taoiseach's Government taking to make sure our classrooms have enough teachers available to them and will he reintroduce the banked hours system that ran during Covid so that those children with additional needs and their special educational needs, SEN, teachers can bank the hours being spent on other classroom provision?

As a basic principle, I think teachers and special needs resources should stay in special needs.

But they are not-----

They should. I am just saying what is my basic principle.

Absolutely, but it is not happening.

Every child is entitled to a pupil-teacher ratio irrespective of whether he or she is a mainstream or special needs pupil, and resources should always be ring-fenced for special needs students. That is a principle to which I have always held strongly ever since I brought in special classes in 1998, SNAs and so on.

On the broader question, there is an issue with supply in certain areas, but the Minister for Education has taken a raft of initiatives, as the Deputy is probably aware, to try in the short term to provide additional resources to schools to enable them to access teachers on a temporary basis and also to increase longer term supply. I will ask the Minister to outline in detail to the Deputy the range of measures she has introduced.