'These are real children, not a numbers game' - Tipperary TD condemns special education quotas

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has condemned the decision by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to halt the rollout of new special education classes, calling it "a disgraceful bureaucratic manoeuvre that ignores thze real needs of children and families".

Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, May 8, Deputy McGrath criticised the Department of Education’s justification that it has met its target of 400 new special classes for the 2025/26 school year as "cold and disconnected from reality".

"This is not a numbers game. These are real children, in real communities, being told there’s no place for them because a box has been ticked in the Department. It’s appalling. Need must come before quotas."

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Deputy McGrath drew particular attention to the situation at Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, which he raised during his Dáil contribution:

"Here we have a school that has stepped up; Coláiste Dún Iascaigh has done everything asked of them to establish a special class. The facilities are in place, the commitment is there from staff and management.

But the NCSE is turning them down, not because the need isn’t there, but because the Department says it has ‘met its target’. That is beyond unacceptable."

He warned that this approach is not only short-sighted but deeply damaging to families and schools working to support students with complex needs.

McGrath emphasised that schools across Tipperary are ready to accommodate these classes, with strong community backing, yet are being blocked by rigid bureaucratic limits.

"We have schools and families aligned in trying to do the right thing — and still, they’re being told no. That’s not just policy failure; it’s moral failure."

Deputy McGrath is now calling on the Minister for Education to immediately revisit the decision:

"One child left without a place is one too many. The Minister must intervene. Expand the number of classes. Respond to actual need on the ground. And support schools like Coláiste Dún Iascaigh who are leading the way in inclusion, not punish them with red tape."