Expand special classes and special school places

What this means

• This is a government commitment made on 23 January 2025 to expand special classes and special school places in Irish primary and post-primary schools.[source]
• The commitment covers the period 2026 to 2030 and is led by the Department of Education under Minister Hildegarde Naughton.[source]
• It aims to fund additional places for children who need specialist educational support, affecting families across the country.[source]
• The commitment is currently listed as in progress, meaning it has been announced but delivery has not yet been completed.[source]
• No specific deadline beyond the 2026 to 2030 window has been set, which makes it important to track whether targets are met on time.[source]

Direct impact (3)

• delivery owned by body
  Department of EducationBody
• delivery owned by officeholder
  Hildegarde NaughtonOfficeholder
• implements mandate
  Provision of education for children with special educational needsMandate

Indirect impact (6)

Two-hop relationships traced through the entity above. Useful for spotting downstream knock-on effects.

• delivery owned by body → owns statutory mandate2-hop via dept-education
  Provision and oversight of first- and second-level educationMandate
• delivery owned by officeholder → holds role: Teachta Dála2-hop via hildegarde-naughton
  Dáil ÉireannBody
• delivery owned by body → holds role: Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth2-hop via dept-education
  Michael MoynihanOfficeholder
• delivery owned by body → holds role: Secretary General, Department of Education2-hop via dept-education
  Bernie McNallyOfficeholder
• delivery owned by body → responsible for commitment2-hop via dept-education
  Reduce the primary pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1Commitment
• delivery owned by officeholder → member of party2-hop via hildegarde-naughton
  Fine GaelParty