Schools Building Projects
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach seo inniu. I thank her for taking time out of her schedule to be here. The topic I want to discuss is one I know is close to the Minister's own heart, namely, the interim special school in County Monaghan. I know that the Minister of State kindly gave up her time last week to visit that school and a number of others. The visit went down a treat so I thank her for her time there.
As the Minister is aware, the parents of County Monaghan have been campaigning for a number of years for a special school for the county. Heretofore, children with special needs in both Monaghan and Cavan went to the Holy Family Special School, Cootehill, County Cavan, under the guidance there of Rachel Moynagh and her excellent staff. It is a fantastic school that is going from strength to strength. Parents in Monaghan have been campaigning for a number of years for a special school to cater for the children of the county. Thankfully, the Minister's Cabinet colleague, Deputy Foley, selected Monaghan last year as a location for an interim special school. I very much welcome this decision. From there, in a short time, the ETB was able to pull it all together to ensure that the school opened in October 2025.
As the Minister knows from last week's visit, the school is going from strength to strength with 18 children being accommodated there. Reports coming back from parents and staff are hugely positive. Everyone is pulling together and they are doing an excellent job. Unfortunately, the demand is ever increasing and with that in mind, I understand that the ETB is now exploring the possibility of trying to have an additional six spaces to the rear of that particular building. Design work, etc., is ongoing at the moment. As the Minister knows from her visit, the topography of the site is particularly difficult, which brings its own challenges when it comes to designing additional spaces. However, these additional spaces are needed and we very much welcome that work.
When it comes to the special school in Monaghan the word being mentioned all along and when the Minister, Deputy Foley, made her decision last year was "interim". We must not lose sight of that. With that in mind, from speaking to staff as the Minister herself did last week, everyone is anxious that in tandem with the design work for the six additional spaces, work would now continue within the county and in the ETB to try to find a site that could be used for a purpose-built facility somewhere in the county that would suit the needs not just in the short to medium term but in the long term of children with special needs in County Monaghan. This is the reason I put down this Commencement matter today, that is, to try to get an update from the Minister on what level of work has been done up to now to locate another site. The initial announcement was made with the proviso that as soon as the school was opened, the focus would then be on trying to find that site. I hope the Minister will give me an update as to where we are in relation to trying to locate a site for a purpose-built special school for County Monaghan.
Again, I thank her for her time. I know she spent the guts of two days in Monaghan. Her time was very much appreciated there. She discovered for herself the great work going on from an educational perspective, from teachers and parents alike and from staff of the ETB, who are working very hard to provide the best possible platform for our children to be the best they possibly can be as they grow up and become adults. I thank the Minister sincerely for her time last week.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27