Almost 800 special class places vacant in schools despite families struggling for support

The Department of Education has confirmed an exercise by the National Council for Special Education, carried out at the start of the school year, recorded 782 vacancies in special classes attached to mainstream schools.

There were almost 800 vacant places in special classes in schools across the country in September, which parents say reveals a widening gap between official figures and the lived reality of families seeking appropriate education for their children.

The Department of Education has confirmed an exercise by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), carried out at the start of the school year, recorded 782 vacancies in special classes attached to mainstream schools.

Of this, almost 470 available places were in special classes attached to mainstream primary schools, and 314 were attached to mainstream secondary schools.

The exercise by the NCSE found available places across almost every county, with just Laois reporting no vacancies.

There were 104 available places in Cork (59 in primary schools, and 45 in post-primary schools); 51 in Dublin (37 in primary schools and 14 in post-primary schools); and 34 in Limerick (20 in primary schools and 14 in post-primary schools).

Other vacancies recorded included 84 in Kerry (54 in primary schools and 30 in post-primary schools), 77 in Galway (58 in primary schools and 19 in post primary schools), and 49 in Monaghan (37 in primary schools and 12 in post-primary schools).

When asked why there were recorded vacancies given the demand for such places, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said it was “because there are more special classes in mainstream schools available than there are students looking for them".

However, advocate Rachel Martin, chairperson of Families Unite for Services and Support Ireland, said the assertion 782 special class places lie empty does not make sense and is at odds with the reality faced by families every year.

“Every year, hundreds of children are left without a school place,” she said.

Parents are forced into legal action, emergency appeals, and public protest. These realities cannot coexist with the idea of widespread surplus capacity unless something is fundamentally wrong in how these places are being counted.

“Until the department and NCSE are willing to publish transparent, detailed information about operational places, not theoretical ones, and until they address the barriers that stop children from taking up these places, the system will continue to deny children their right to an education.” 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the 782 vacancies were the "confirmed number of available special class places as at start of this school year as reported by schools to the NCSE".

"There are a wide range of special classes in operation across schools — autism classes, early intervention, mild general learning disability classes, moderate general learning disability classes," the spokesperson said.

"It is accepted that these available places may not always be in an area that some children and young people wish to apply to for the upcoming school year. It is also accepted that some of these places may fill throughout the 2025/2026 school year.

“The NCSE advised that all children known to them have been advised of schools where there are places available and encouraged and supported to apply for those places."

The NCSE also advise that “many of the children seeking a special class place are already attending school and are being supported by special education teachers and SNAs in the school”. 

“Where students are progressing well, many families may choose not to move a child or young person to a special class in another school.” 

The timeline to apply for places next year has been brought forward by four months in a bid to ensure better planning for the 2026/27 school year.

Parents had until October 1 to notify the NCSE and the process of planning for next year is now ongoing, the spokesperson added.