A NEW National Therapy Service will see occupational therapists, speech and language experts, and physios recruited into schools across the country later this year.
Children with additional needs are being left to wait years for therapies such as speech and language, occupational, or physio through the health service.
The Coalition has promised to increase access to these services by recruiting therapists directly into schools and move the therapies away from the health service.
Education Minister Helen McEntee is planning to start a new National Therapy Service in schools in the next academic year by recruiting therapists into dedicated special schools.
This will be followed by the recruitment of therapists for all schools that have special classes for children with additional needs.
A source said: “The service will start with occupational therapists and speech and language support. This will then be extended to physiotherapy over time.”
The Government intends to start these services in some special schools in September of this year before a wider roll out in the 2026/2027 academic year.
The Education Minister believes that putting these supports into schools will make it easier for children to access the services they need in a timely manner.
Therapists would also be able to support teachers and SNAs in special schools to help children progress.
Minister McEntee has been working with Special Education Minister Michael Moynihan on the plan that they are expected to announce in the coming days.
There are questions around how quickly the Government will be able to staff this new National Therapy Service considering how difficult the HSE has found it to recruit therapists.
Parents of children with special needs have been left waiting for years to get their first assessment of needs – before even getting access to any therapies.
A group of parents of children with additional needs have been holding regular high profile protests in recent months as they call on the Government to open more special schools.
Parents have told the Irish Sun how they have received rejection letters from more than 20 schools for a school place as existing schools are just too full.
Minister McEntee has vowed to try get a school place for every child before the new academic year starts in September.
Some 399 new special education classes have been sanctioned by the Minister to provide 2,700 new spaces for children.
The Minister has threatened to use legal powers to force schools to open up new special classes if they refuse to do so.