1442. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children who have been approved for the home tuition grant scheme due to the unavailability of an appropriate school place in each of the past five years; whether the Government accepts that home tuition is intended as a temporary measure rather than a substitute for a school placement; and the actions being taken to reduce reliance on this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59077/26]

The Home Tuition Grant Schemes provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. By its nature, home tuition is intended to be a short-term intervention.

The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme (Special Education Component) is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for:

• Pre-school children with autism who meet the scheme's eligibility criteria;

• Children seeking a Special School or Special Class placement;

• Students, enrolled in schools, with a significant medical condition which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school; and

• Students, enrolled in schools, with school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school.

In the case of children who are seeking a Special School or Special Class placement, the aim of my Department is to meet the needs of families and to ensure that every child is allocated a suitable school placement. The preferred approach is that children are educated in school settings where they may have access to fully qualified teachers, individualised education programmes, special needs assistants, the school curriculum and, where possible and appropriate, full or partial integration and interaction with their peers.

Accordingly, home tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is not currently available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement.

The number of children approved for Home Tuition supports while seeking a Special School or Special Class placement in each of the past five school years is set out in the table below.

It is important to note that the number of home tuition sanctions for children seeking or transitioning to a special school or special class place is not an indicator of the number of children currently without a school placement. Many children availing of this support are accessing educational provision through private group providers and others may subsequently receive a school placement during the school year.

My Department is continuing to take significant steps to increase specialist educational provision and reduce reliance on home tuition. The Parents Notify process has played a key role in forward planning and has supported the delivery of 584 new special classes and the establishment of four new special schools for the 2026/27 school year including the expansion of capacity in existing special schools.

The NCSE has verified that 7,860 children and young people notified by 1 October 2025 are eligible for a specialist placement for the 2026/27 school year. The NCSE continues to work with families where children have come forward since that date to secure appropriate placements.

NCSE data indicates that there is sufficient overall capacity to meet identified demand. However, I recognise that places may not always become available in a family's preferred school or locality. The NCSE actively engages with families in these circumstances to identify suitable placements.

My Department receives regular updates on placements and meets with the NCSE on a weekly basis to monitor progress, address emerging issues and ensure that every student and family secures an appropriate school placement as quickly as possible. The objective remains to ensure that children can access an appropriate school setting and that home tuition is used only as a temporary support where a suitable placement is not immediately available.