1272. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of SEN ASD places that will be available in schools, both primary and post-primary, in the Dublin south-west area for the 2026-2027 academic year, in tabular form. [57056/26]

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.

A list of all mainstream and special schools is available on my department's website on gov.ie. In addition, a list of schools with special classes; broken by location and class designation is available on the NCSE website at: ncse.ie/special-classes

My department and the NCSE continue to work closely with school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools to confirm new special classes for the next school year 2026/2027. In addition, I recently announced inclusive special classes as part of a new approach to supporting students with additional needs. This is one of many ways my department is actively engaging to meet the increased demand.

For the 2026/27 school year 584 additional new special classes have been sanctioned, including 68 inclusive special classes. Of the 584 new special classes 140 are confirmed for Dublin so far. Of these 94 are at primary and 46 at post-primary level. This brings the total number of special classes to 845 for County Dublin. and to over 4,300 nationwide. Further new special classes may be confirmed in the coming weeks, if required.

Four new special schools were recently announced by Ministers Naughton and Moynihan to be established in Balbriggan, CityWest, Bray and Monasterevin. This will bring to 44 the number of special schools in Dublin with approximately 2,700 students enrolled. Dedicated working groups including the department, the NCSE and relevant patron body continue to meet to support the establishment of the new special schools. The NCSE will continue to advise parents at local level on developments.

The NCSE remains available to provide advice and support to all families seeking specialist placement.

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to achieve their full potential.