(Ireland) More help needed for students with dyslexia, speech and language
- May 8
- 2 min read
May 6, 2026, More supports needed for students with dyslexia, Moynihan says
Fianna Fáil TD Shane Moynihan has said that more needs to be done to improve supports for students with dyslexia and speech and language needs.
The Dublin Mid-West TD acknowledged that while improvements have been made for students on the autism spectrum, the same could not be said for other neurodivergent students.
Moynihan said that “concerns have been raised with me that this progress has not necessarily been reflected in the provision of dyslexia and speech and language needs.”
“Associated with that are needs around dyspraxia and apraxia of speech as well, especially where there is a co-occurrence of autism,” he explained.
Moynihan said there were no reading classes or specialist reading schools in his constituency of Dublin Mid-West, and the same could be said of Dublin as a whole; he noted that there are only a few in all of Dublin and indeed, across Ireland.
He noted “the early signs of dyslexia are not always recognised or acted upon in a timely way,” and for that reason, better support systems were needed.
Moynhian said that there are capacity constraints in the National Educational Psychological Service, which he acknowledged has an impact on psychological assessments.
The current practice of using standardised test scores to inform decisions on additional support, per Moynihan, is not an effective tool in detecting students with underlying learning difficulties.
He said that standardised test scores “primarily measure attainment rather than the underlying learning difficulties and may only highlight the issues once a child has already begun to fall behind.”
“International best practice suggests that early screening of key indicators, such as phonological awareness and letter sound knowledge, are the sorts of things that we should be zeroing in on.”
He said that structured literacy instruction or targeted small group or individual intervention delivered by trained staff would be a better solution to the current education model.
Moynihan then questioned if the same model used for students on the autism spectrum could be used for students with dyslexia, and whether the Department of Education is developing a national framework on the issue.
The Fianna Fáil TD also said that the expansion of the National Educational Psychological Service was needed to tackle the issue.
The elephant in the room, as far as Fianna Fáil are concerned, is that they held the Education brief in the last government (and have worked with Fine Gael in some capacity since 2016), yet they failed to expand resources for students with additional educational needs.. . .
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