Decrease in Offaly Early Intervention classes "extremely concerning"

The number of early intervention classes in Offaly has decreased by three since the 2023/2024 academic year, despite a rapid rise in the county’s population and increased demand for supports for children with additional needs.

The shock decrease, which was revealed to Sinn Féin deputy, Pa Daly, in response to a Parliamentary Question, has been strongly condemned by the party's Tullamore-based Cllr, Aoife Masterson, who described the figures as “extremely concerning.”

Highlightin that, in Offaly, the number of early intervention classes fell from tren in 2023/2024 to seven in 2025/2026, Cllr Masterson said the decrease shows the government's “blatant failure” to address the lack of early intervention classes in each county, and shows how detached they are from “the reality on the ground, where we can see first hand the number of children who could use this support if additional classes existed.”

She also pointed out that in counties where the number of places has increased, the improvements have only been “by miniscule amounts” which would “in no instances be enough to satisfy the demand.”

Cllr Masterson has urged Education Minister, Helen McEntee, to provide adequate funding and resources to expand the number of early intervention classes to meet demand across the State.