Schools may be compelled to open special classes, says minister

It comes as a group led by parents whose children have not received an offer of a school place for next year staged a 24-hour sleep-out outside the Department of Education to highlight the worsening crisis over the weekend.

Mr Moynihan said his officials are now working to have 400 new special classes in place for September but he is "fiercely puzzled" by a "reluctance" from some schools to accommodate children in special classes.

"I have given a lot of thought to where the reluctance is because you go into post-primary schools or primary schools that have a special class and people all tell you what it has meant to their school, how it has empowered schools, and how it has enriched schools, and I'm fiercely puzzled by some of the reluctance that's there," he told the Irish Examiner.

"What is the culture or the attitude that has formed a reluctance to embrace it? 

"Because, from what I see around those that have embraced it, they are hugely enthusiastic by what they have done and what they have achieved."

Asked specifically if snobbery or an emphasis on keeping grades at a certain level may be a reason for this reluctance, he said: "Why should it be the case that the school authorities think that they are lowering the tone of their school by having [a special unit], Why should that be the case?

"Why haven't we been able to sell that as a society, as embracing all of the children? Why would we even discuss whether it is or it isn't a snobbery issue?"

Mr Moynihan said principals and management should be providing places and opening up special classes where there is a need regardless of the size of the school.

"There is law there to say that if a school, if there is need within the community, and the school has space, or a school has facility for it, that they can compel those schools.," he said referring to a mechanism known as section 37.

"We need to make sure that there is no culture, or there's no attitude, or there is no reluctance to embrace the opening of special classes. And if there is, we need to break them down.

"We need to be better at telling the story of it. If we use the section 37 to compel schools, I think we have to look at what is the reluctance there, what is the challenge there?"

Mr Moynihan said he is aware of desperate families who have applied to more than 20 schools in bid to find a place for their child and said a centralised system being worked on will address this.

While a new applications portal will only be up and running for the September 2026 intake, Mr Moynihan indicated that parents of children entering primary or secondary school this September will be given confirmation earlier this year.

"Children that don't have additional needs would know very much an advance where they are going, it needs to be same for children with additional needs."