64. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Education and Youth to proactively mandate and fund mainstream schools to open dedicated autism classes ahead of demand, ensuring no child is left without a suitable placement in their local community. [74852/26]

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.

My department and the NCSE identify the need for special educational provision with consideration to demographical and statistical data and in regard to an areas existing school provision and future capability. In addition, part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansion is required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education that meets their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information the NCSE hold at local level on the number of children and young people seeking a special school place in a region.

The information held on the department's Geographical Information System (GIS), particularly in relation to student demographics, is a key component when forecasting the need for additional special class and special school places. My department and the NCSE have undertaken analysis of the trends in special class and special school provision over recent years by county and local school planning area. In total there are 314 local school planning areas.

In order to support the NCSE and forward planning my department published Circular 0063/2026. This circular informs school management and patrons of measures introduced to support forward planning and reiterates the need for parents to inform the NCSE through the Parent Notify process that they are seeking a special educational placement for their child.

This notification process will provide the NCSE with critical information on children who continue to need a special class as they progress to post-primary level as well as details on students who require a place for the first time.

This year to facilitate earlier sanctioning of classes for the 2027/28 school year, an earlier date of 1 September was set for parents with necessary documentation to be provided by 15 September 2026 or as soon as is reasonably practicable thereafter.

The Parents Notify process provides the NCSE and the department with the information for the potential need for specialist placements in working with schools to forward plan for special education provision.

The NCSE will continue to engage with parents/guardians and schools on this, to ensure all of the relevant information is provided as quickly as possible to facilitate comprehensive forward planning.

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.