1386. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether consideration is being given to developing the parents notify process into a single national application and matching system for special class and special school places, thereby reducing the need for parents to make multiple individual applications to schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58773/26]

This government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.

A new taskforce to support the forward planning of special education provision in the Dublin 15 area was established to support planning for the 2025/26 school year. The Dublin 15 area has experienced significant increases in population growth in recent years, with high levels of inward migration and some areas with social disadvantage.

The voice of parents has been a key component of the taskforce. Parent representation on the taskforce includes representatives from the Autism School Dublin 15 (ASD15) group, the National Parents Council and parents from the local area. The taskforce also considered the development of a common application system for admission to primary special classes.

The Taskforce report, together with the associated progress update report, is available at the following link:www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/taskforce-to-support-forward-planning-of-special-education-provision-in-the-dublin-15-area/ The taskforce’s recommendations are currently being examined.

The key focus of my department remains working with the NCSE and school patron bodies to secure additional special classes.

The common application system pilot is ongoing in some areas of the country and the NCSE is leading work at a local level with school principals on running the trial for another year. Running concurrently is the extension of the autism class application trial (ACAT) in the Dublin 15 area. There are 18 schools participating in the ACAT trial, 17 at primary level and one special school for 2026/27.

The rollout of the pilot Apply to School system for schools represents a significant step towards improving the school admissions system. It provided families with a single online application process and introduced synchronised and streamlined timelines for schools to manage admissions and issue offers.

The Apply to School pilot focused on achieving simple efficiencies within a short timeframe for delivery and the expanded pilot will build on this. The planned improvements in the functionality of the system reflects collaborative effort to imbed lessons learned and aims to further enhance the potential of the system to ease the administrative burden on both parents and schools. Furthermore, the pilot will be expanded to ten school planning areas by adding a new adjacent area to each of the original five areas.

These pilots form an important step towards delivering a more efficient, transparent, and equitable school application process. It will reduce stress for families, ease administrative burdens on schools, while also supporting better planning for school places.

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.