Yesterday, we saw the announcement from the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, that the Government will replace the existing assessment of need process with a new system. However, I have deep concerns about the proposal announced to replace the requirement for a formal diagnosis when determining access to a special class or special school. As a former teacher, I cannot overstate the seriousness of this development. This proposal has profound implications for schools, teachers and the children and families who rely on appropriate, timely and specialist assessment. Replacing diagnostic criteria with an educational assessment places an unreasonable and unsafe burden on schools. To me, it seems that we will streamline the process of receiving therapies, but leave a massive void in how special classes and places will be assigned.

The Minister, Deputy Foley, reiterated yesterday that people will no longer need an assessment of need to get a place in a special school or class, instead saying it is up to education to decide on how these places will be assigned. She outlined that some sort of special educational assessment will be established to get a school place for a child, saying it was her hope that the Department of education would have the new system in place for the September 2027 academic year. Who will carry out this new special educational assessment? Will it be teachers or SENOs? There is no point in the Government suggesting that more psychologists, clinicians or multidisciplinary teams will be required, because the Government has made that money available to hire for these roles, but the roles are not being filled.

I also ask whether the Minister, Deputy Naughton, was aware of these changes yesterday, or was it a surprise to her? It was duly noted that there was no representative from the Department of education at this announcement yesterday. Teachers themselves will say that they are not the ones who should be in the position of determining an appropriate place for a child with additional needs. In reality, this leaves parents in a worse-off position. They will now be chasing two parallel pathways, one to get the therapies they need, and one to get the diagnosis and school place they need.

Does the Taoiseach believe that this makes sense? Yesterday, 85% of the teachers surveyed reported moderate to high work-related burnout. Is the Government now placing this burden on them? Teachers cannot and should not be expected to take on duties that belong to psychologists, clinicians or multidisciplinary teams. This shift undermines the integrity of the entire assessment process and places schools in an impossible position. It also risks leaving families unsupported and pupils at genuine risk of not receiving the appropriate provision that they are entitled to. The proposal seems to be driven not by what is best for children, but by the inability of the health and disability sector to manage the assessment of need backlog.

Who will carry out these educational assessments? How will the Department of education manage and resource this responsibility? Crucially, and I want an answer to this question, has the process of establishing this new special educational assessment begun within the Department of education?

First, I reject completely the assertions made by the Deputy in respect of this. I think he is missing the fundamental point. The assessment of need framework as it currently stands is not fit for purpose, and recent High Court decisions have made it less fit for purpose. The objective of the legislation, along with a whole series of other measures, is to prioritise and increase timely access to therapies for children. That is the fundamental point: to free up therapists in providing services and treatment.

The Department of education was intimately involved with the Department of children and other Departments under the Cabinet subcommittee on disability regarding this legislative change. We made a very clear decision early on in this Government that we were going to do this, and grasp the nettle in respect of it. We can go on here for another two years, with people coming in and complaining about this list and that waiting list, and they will keep on doing that - it is great stuff, wonderful - as the lists keep going up. The system is completely not fit for purpose. We want to utilise therapists to provide services to children, and we are going to do it.

Bottom-line legislation is the first step, but there is a whole series of other measures that we are taking as well. That basically means we are creating statutory guidelines to support assessment officers in making earlier determinations of disability, reducing the need for unnecessary or repeated clinical assessments. There will be proportionate assessments based on each child's circumstances, including the use of existing diagnostic information or reports, allowing for streamlined, desk-based reviews, where appropriate; and faster delivery of assessment reports provided at the earliest possible point, without affecting anyone's right to an assessment of need and without changing the statutory timeframes set out in the Act itself.

We will be doing a wider review of the Disability Act in early 2026 to ensure it reflects modern, rights-based child and adult-focused supports. A dedicated autism diagnostic assessment panel will be established. There will be a new autism assessment and intervention pathways protocol from 5 February 2026, ensuring consistent practice across primary care, CAMHS and CDNTs, and removing the requirement for an assessment of need to access non-health supports, such as special classes and school places. We do not want children waiting to get into a special class or a school place where the need is obvious. We do not want delays. We want to get the child access to facilities and therapies immediately.

There will be 11 new in-reach teams, with four staff in each team, to provide expert clinical guidance to the assessment staff. A new single point of access model from 2026 is being established - Bernard of Gloster and the HSE have led out on this - giving families one consistent entry route to primary care, CAMHS or the children's disability network teams.

The Deputy knows that we are rolling out the education therapy service in 45 special schools from the new year, and then, for the 2026-27 academic year, all special schools will have an education therapy service.

The time is up. I call Deputy Kenny.

The private procurement of assessment of need will be supported by €20 million in this year's budget, and there is more on top of that, but I do not have time to elaborate on it.

The question was simple. Who will carry out these educational assessments? Will it be teachers? Will it be SENOs? Who will it be? John Boyle from the INTO said this morning that teachers were not consulted, briefed or even informed in advance of these proposals. It is grossly unfair that Government Departments are using vulnerable children as political footballs after failing to provide them with timely assessments and therapeutic supports. The question is fairly simple. Who will carry out these educational assessments that were announced yesterday? I never said that I was against what was announced yesterday.

You did.

I never said that. What I asked was who will carry out these educational assessments. That was quite clear. The Taoiseach did not answer that question.

I did.

The question is fundamentally clear. Will the Department of education have this programme established by October next year? Right now, to me, it seems that it will not. The Government cannot even answer as to who will carry out these educational assessments. That is the question I am asking. Will it be teachers? Will it be SENOs? Who will it be?

Again, you did criticise it, by the way.

I did not, not once.

From the outset, you have been extremely negative. The whole question was articulated in a negative way.

That is not true.

That is your reality, Taoiseach.

Fine. I welcome Deputy Kenny's turnaround and reverse within five minutes. As for the question, I did say that there will be assessment teams. Teachers will not be assessing. I would appreciate, if the INTO has issues, that it would engage with us and engage with the Department of education. Do not be shooting from the hip.

Who will do the assessments?

People should not be shooting from the hip all the time. The current system is not fit for purpose. Many children will present with special needs from the earliest diagnosis, when it is very clear they have special needs. They do not need to go through elaborate further assessments of need before being allocated a school place.

We do need to streamline this. Therapists need to be freed up to provide services, to engage. That is what we want here, not endless long lists of people stuck for six or 12 months. We have to do this. No matter what political perspective one holds the system has to be unblocked.