Kildare Families Blocked From Applying For Special Classes After NCSE Closes Portal

It allowed parents to upload medical reports and get the eligibility letter needed to apply for ASD and special-class places.

Some Kildare parents cannot apply for ASD and special-class places after the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) closed its Parents Notify portal.

That's according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.

The portal shut on 1 October.

It allowed parents to upload medical reports and get the eligibility letter needed to apply for ASD and special-class places.

Whitmore said many parents didn’t know it existed, while others were still waiting on assessments.

Without it, they cannot get the eligibility letter schools require.

Seven weeks later, there is no replacement process.

According to Whitmore, no update for parents has been forthcoming.

She said several Kildare families missed enrolment deadlines because they did not have the letter.

The NCSE had said new guidance would be issued “in the coming weeks" but that guidance, Whitmore said, has not appeared.

She said children who miss Round 1 of admissions in high-demand areas like Kildare go straight to waiting lists.

"Unfortunately, the guidance the NCSE sent out to all the schools states that a child who does not get into the first enrolments will go onto the waiting list. A child on a waiting list in any area where there are capacity issues is not getting a place," Whitmore said.

Fine Gael Minister of State Christopher O’Sullivan said gaps were “inevitable” in the first year of the new system.

He was responding on behalf of Michael Moynihan, a junior Minister in the Department of Education and Youth.

He said reopening the portal appears unlikely, but he will raise the issue with Moynihan.

"With any date for applications for supports, it is important that those who come forward after that date are assured that they are not forgotten or excluded from the system. I would like to stress that NCSE staff will continue to support all children made known to them after 1 October," he said.

Kildare continues to face major pressure on ASD capacity and Whitmore said she was not impressed by O'Sullivan's response.

She said: "The NCSE say it is important for people who come forward after 1 October to be assured they are not forgotten or excluded from the system and that it will continue to support them. That has not happened. Parents who did not make the 1 October deadline have had no contact from the NCSE or SENOs. The NCSE portal stated guidance would be provided but seven weeks later, there is no update on that website."

Parents now fear their children may not secure a place for September 2026 unless a new process is issued soon.

Whitmore has requested an urgent meeting with  Minister Moynihan.