Dublin’s special education crisis: The children left behind 

Thomas Russell Dunne is a 5-year-old boy with Autism and Global Developmental Disorder.  

He has recently been diagnosed with an intellectual disability.  

For the past year his mother Grace has been trying to secure a school placement for Thomas.  

She has still not managed to secured one.  

Grace has applied to over 48 schools this year alone for Thomas – some are ASD units in a mainstream school and some are special schools –  and has received 33 refusals.   

“At the moment Thomas is in Holy Spirit BNS in Silouge Ballymun in a mainstream class for two hours a day as he cannot cope on this environment,” Grace tells us.  

“Thomas is a twin, his sister Ellie goes to the girls side of Holy Spirit in mainstream.   

“Thomas’ older brother Ben also has autism and he also attends Holy Spirit but in the ASD class.  

“Because of this I wanted Thomas to be in school to make this as normal as possible for him and his siblings and not be stuck at home and forgotten about by the system.   

“I have had to leave work because of not being able to secure an appropriate school for Thomas and feel as though I have failed him.   

“He is the most placid little boy very affectionate, happy and always laughing,” she says of her son.  

“He does not deserve any of this and has a right to an education that I know in my heart would help Thomas grow and learn to help him in years to come.  

“I feel I have done everything in my power to try secure him a place but fail at every obstacle.”   

Grace acknowledged she was “taking a risk” by putting Thomas into mainstream education, and had been told by professionals that this wasn’t the right setting for him.  

“Thankfully he does love being in school and seeing friends, but he cannot cope and cannot attend this setting any more than two hours per week.”  

This story is emblematic of a wider crisis that cuts across social divides, Northside and Southside, and income levels.  

Thomas is just one of thousands of children across Dublin struggling due to a chronic shortage of special needs teachers and SNAs.   

Parents and teachers alike have blown the whistle that the crisis is worsening, leaving vulnerable children without the tailored education they need to thrive.  

In October 2024, The Economist dubbed Ireland a country with “too much money” and said that the government “is so flush with cash it does not know quite what to do with it.”  

In this instance, it is a case of too many families are facing a battle just to secure an appropriate school place for their children.   

Families are being left overwhelmed and distraught.   

Figures from the Department of Education reveal that demand for special needs support in Dublin schools has surged in recent years, but recruitment has not kept pace.   

Inclusion Ireland, the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability, say 45% of children with support needs are being failed by the educational system as they face multiple barriers to access their right to school.   

They either contend with a lack of appropriate supports at school, a reduced timetable, emotionally based school avoidance, other distressing experiences, or they are not attending school at all.  

Inclusion Ireland say they gathered the results following the Department of Education’s announcement last February to remove ‘complex needs’ as a criterion for allocating Special Education Teacher hours.   

The National Principals’ Forum said they found the move by the Department “truly baffling”.    

“Sadly, we are not surprised by the stark response,” CEO of Inclusion Ireland, Derval McDonagh said.  

“Disabled children have been facing barriers to access their right to education for some time.   

“We expect our leaders to stand up and prioritise this with urgency, so we were deeply disturbed by the Department of Education’s announcement to remove the criteria enabling access to the support of special education teachers for children with ‘complex needs’.”  

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has also acknowledged that schools are struggling to fill vacancies.  

For families like the Dunne’s, the fallout is deeply personal.   

Teachers, too, are feeling the strain.   

The government has acknowledged the shortfall and announced plans to increase SNA and special education teacher numbers.   

However, progress has been slow, and those on the frontlines say the measures fall far way short of addressing the scale of the problem.  

As the school year progresses, parents like Grace worry about what lies ahead.   

“We are being failed by our government,” Grace says.  

“Our lives are in limbo because Thomas can’t secure a school.”  

This is the first in a series of reports by Dublin People examining the crisis in special education.   

Over the coming weeks we will bring you the voices of those affected and seek answers from those in power.   

The current state of special education is unacceptable and fails to uphold the rights of children with additional needs.  

Merely throwing money at the problem will not be enough to solve it; tackling the issue requires an examination of the attitudes of the people who make life-altering decisions for children.  

An attitude of “computer says no” is demeaning to everyone involved, and it is apparent that in decision-making circles Ireland is stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of “want to help, won’t help.”  

For a country so obsessed with the bottom line, failing to invest in the future of our children now will have detrimental effects down the line.  

The equivalent of the population of County Tipperary are on the autism spectrum alone in Ireland; that is before you factor in other issues such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other developmental disorders.  

Why is it that parents like Grace make nearly 50 applications to schools only to get turned down?  

Why is it that our newsroom has heard stories of teachers who are on the verge of having to quit their job just to raise their children because they can’t find a place for them?  

Help us break this cycle.  

If you have a story to share, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or if you would rather call our number is 01862161.