On 25th June 2025, the Department of Education and Youth published its Review into the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004. The review, which was commenced by the then Minister for Special Education, Josepha Madigan, in 2021, followed an intense period of consultation with community members. AsIAm contributed to this review by sending a written submission to the Department, highlighting our concerns with the non-commencement of key legislative provisions of this Act, which you can find here. The publication of this review makes a number of recommendations within the current EPSEN Act.
For its time (predating the publication of the UNCRPD), the EPSEN Act was considered a progressive piece of legislation. It was the first enacted piece of legislation that specifically focused on special education in Ireland. EPSEN set out a comprehensive statutory framework for the provision of education for those with additional educational needs. Notwithstanding the progressive elements of this legislation, an indelible mark has been left on this Act due to the non-commencement of key legislative features. Eighteen sections of this Act remain non-commenced since its enactment in 2004. This has created a fragmented and inconsistent application of the Act’s purpose and intention across our schooling system. Provision of services under the EPSEN Act is currently working from a “grace and favour” system, which is inherently unfair. A key example of this is the application of Individual Education Plans in our education system.
Following Ireland’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2018, alongside ongoing changes in disability and education policy, and a growing emphasis on rights-based Social Model approaches in academic research and pedagogy, there is now a clear obligation on the Government to create a more accessible and inclusive education system. This system must meet the needs of all Disabled and Autistic students and ensure they are not excluded due to their disability, diagnosis, or support needs.
What were the findings of the EPSEN Review?
The Department’s review of the EPSEN Act contains 51 recommendations, which aim to overhaul provisions outlined in the EPSEN Act to bring them more in line with a more inclusive education system set out by the UNCRPD.
Key recommendations include:
The Department should consider introducing legislation to bring the education provision of all school-age children under a single Act, setting out a rights-based, inclusive education system.
The Department should keep the functions of the National Council for Special Education.
The Department should consider including a mediation process—originally set out in Section 38 of the EPSEN Act 2004 but never implemented—in any new or updated legislation to help resolve disagreements between families and schools on education provision.
Review the Disability Act 2005 and the laws governing the Assessment of Needs (AON) process to help ensure that children and families receive timely access to assessments, and that the AON process leads to children accessing education supports.
The Department should establish a legal right for all children, including Autistic children, to access early years education, with access to the supports they need under the EPSEN Act and the UNCRPD.
Future legislation should define inclusive education in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its core principles.
Revised legislation should use the term Student Support Plans (SSPs) instead of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) as the basis for providing supports and resources, including the right to appeal.
Aspects of the Assessment of Need process, which examines a child’s education support needs, should be made more efficient and timelier within an inclusive assessment framework, with regular monitoring and updates to better meet the child’s needs at school.
The Department should develop a roadmap for introducing an inclusive education system. This system should support a child to transition between different education environments and settings, put the child at the centre of decisions made about their education, provide confidence to families and school communities, and meet Ireland’s obligations under the UNCRPD.
The transition towards full inclusion should be carefully planned and happen gradually, while still making sure that children who need access to individualised supports such as special schools and autism classes can access these supports.
The words and terms used in education policy and practice should be clear and based on evidence and best practices under the UNCRPD where possible. This includes reviewing the name of the NCSE and considering whether it would be better to incorporate “additional needs” instead of “special needs” to refer to a child’s education support needs.
The Department should review the age limit for children in special schools, who can currently access an education until they are 18 years old, to make it more equal and bring this into line with students in mainstream schools who can stay longer.
Changes to the education system should protect every child’s right to access and participate in school and their wider school community. Children’s views and experiences about their education should be listened to and included in all decisions and reforms.
Any reforms to make the education system more inclusive should focus on keeping children safe and supporting their wellbeing, learning and participation. Schools should focus on promoting inclusion and diversity in the classroom and in the school community, and take steps to prevent bullying and racism at school.
Early intervention and access to in-school therapies should be available in schools for students who need them. Many Autistic people and families in the EPSEN review process said that having access to these supports in schools is essential for meeting their child’s emotional regulation and sensory processing needs at school.
Other recommendations highlighted in this review focus on greater collaboration between the Department and representative organisations, greater workforce planning, and continuous training and professional development for teachers, Special Needs Assistants, and principals. They also focus on managing transitions between different educational settings, making sure that educational supports are provided in Irish-language schools, making educational environments and curriculums more accessible—such as life skills—and promoting Universal Design across the education system.
What does AsIAm think about the findings of the EPSEN Act Review?
AsIAm welcomes the publication and findings of the EPSEN Act Review, as its recommendations offer a clear pathway for the Department to modernise Ireland’s education laws and policies to align with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). We also welcome that the recommendations reflect a twin-track approach—one that addresses the immediate need for school places and supports, including through special schools and alternative education, while also building long-term reforms to create an inclusive education system. This means ensuring that every child has access to a school place that meets their needs now, while also working toward a future where all children can attend their local school, with timely access to the services and supports they need and where their rights are protected by law. We also welcome the Review’s call for the Department to set out a clear vision for this transition, in line with the UNCRPD. The move toward inclusive education should happen in clear, incremental stages—driven by real momentum and a strong policy commitment to ensure every child is included at school.
While we welcome many of the EPSEN Review’s findings and recommendations set out to create an inclusive education system for all students, we are concerned that some key supports—like statutory Student Support Plans and access to independent mediation—are being left to broader changes in the Education Act, rather than being included in the updated EPSEN Act.
Whilst we support comprehensive reform of the Education Act to reflect the transition towards an inclusive education system under the UNCRPD, Autistic children and families urgently need these supports to vindicate their education rights. We are concerned that placing these measures within wider education reforms risks delaying their introduction and significantly slowing down the process of engaging and rolling out necessary reforms to realise an inclusive education system. That delay could prevent families from getting school places and the right support at the right time to uphold their child’s rights. We have raised this concern throughout the review process, and we are calling on the Department of Education to introduce statutory Student Support Plans and access to independent mediation by reforms to the EPSEN Act during the lifetime of this Government, rather than as reforms to the wider Education Act later.
As we highlighted in our recent statement on the EPSEN Act Review:
“Our community cannot wait years for these measures to be put in place, when families are telling us that they have to constantly battle to both access an appropriate school place and the supports they need to meet their child’s education rights. For this reason, we call on the Department of Education to introduce these measures within the lifetime of this Government.”
