School Facilities
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Sorca Clarke (SF), Longford-Westmeath

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which is very similar to a response to a parliamentary question I received. He emphasised special educational needs. The school in question has a child waiting to start in the special class promised in 2022. The class has not materialised and the child is still waiting.
The Minister of State also referred to cost capacities and value for money. Department officials came to the school and told it what should be built, which was far in excess of what the school itself had asked for. Today, there are children sitting in a classroom with walls that show signs of structural instability. I certainly would not accept one of my children being in a school like that. Would the Minister of State? I do not think any parent should have to do that.
I will give another fact about this school. In the concrete part of the school, there is one classroom and a multifunctional room, and I use that term lightly. This multifunctional room is the principal's office, the secretary's office and the staff room. It is also where children with special educational needs are taught. That part of the room is divided from the secretary's workplace by a row of filing cabinets.
The school build, as it stands, is simply not fit for purpose. The school was given a commitment that this build would be done. Now, almost four years later, there is still no sign of it. The staff are doing the best they can in inappropriate facilities. Pupils are learning in unsuitable conditions and members of the school community feel they have been left behind. I am very disappointed that there is nothing in the Minister of State's response that would indicate they are wrong to feel that way. The €7 billion announced means nothing to them; they are not included in it. Their children are still going back to a cold, damp, squishy floor in a mould-covered school tomorrow and after the Easter break.
I want to bring it back to this issue because it is what is important here. This school is in the children's community. It is the local school, and the six teachers and staff are doing fantastic work. These are not just my words that I am putting on the record here. Everything I have said has been confirmed by an engineer's report and in correspondence sent to the Department.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26