521. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Education and Youth to intervene to ensure a school (details supplied) can open a second ASD class as soon as possible; if the NCSE will carry out a school visit during this term; if the recent cut to SET hours is reversed; and if their DEIS status will reviewed. [64665/26]

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.

The NCSE actively encourage expressions of interest from schools to open special classes, and I appreciate and commend the efforts taken by boards of management in expressing their interest. However, it is not always possible to open a special class in every school that expresses an interest.

My Department and the NCSE continue to work closely with school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools with 587 new special classes sanctioned to date for the 2026/2027 school year. New special classes are being established in every county with 12 new special classes confirmed for County Clare.

The DEIS Strategy to 2035 sets out a long-term plan to address educational disadvantage in all schools and work to ensure that any child or young person experiencing educational disadvantage is supported through their education journey.

The DEIS Strategy implementation plan 2026-2028, sets out to develop an agile resource allocation model to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all primary and post-primary schools.

These actions focus on the continued enhancement of the data available to measure school level disadvantage and for the development of a more flexible resource allocation model that can react to change in school needs and provide the right resources at the right time.

In light of these actions and current budget constraints there is currently no intention to conduct a review of DEIS banding or to expand the DEIS programme to include new schools. Any future additional allocation of resources under the DEIS programme will be considered over the lifetime of the DEIS Strategy to 2035 and in the context of available resources.

In relation to the school referred to by the Deputy, the school has seen a reduction in their Special Education teaching (SET) allocation in 2026/27 of 4% which was primarily driven by a reduction in enrolments of almost 5%. When allocations are issued each year schools are advised that should they require additional SET resources to support the needs of their pupils they should apply to the NCSE for a review. The NCSE has indicated the school did not request a review of their SET allocation. In addition to the above resources, the school have been allocated 7.5 SET per week under the Ukrainian and IPAS temporary scheme of support.

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.