School Accommodation
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising this issue on behalf of St. Brendan's College in Belmullet. I always appreciate it when a Deputy raises an issue about which he or she has lived experience, in this case, family members in the school in question. I acknowledge the genuine tribute the Deputy has paid to the team in St. Brendan's College, as well as the huge amount of work that is going on across the education system.
The Deputy asks what we can do in this case. We are spending a huge amount of money on special education right across the country. We are trying to make sure that we have the best services available to children with additional needs in both primary and post-primary education. I assure the Deputy that since my appointment over a year ago I have worked extremely hard with the Department and the NCSE to make sure that we are providing the best possible resources across the education system. In all of the decisions that have been taken on additional accommodation or new builds, special education is built in. It is standard practice at this stage to ensure that any investment being made by the Department of education, the State and the taxpayer includes special education provision right across the country so that we bring special education as close as possible to those who need it.
The Deputy put a simple question to me with regard to the nurture room. In many schools that I have visited I have seen imaginative solutions put in place to provide nurture rooms. I absolutely accept that nurture rooms are hugely important for ensuring that children with additional needs have the best possible educational experience. There are some funding mechanisms available to provide additional classrooms in the context of reconfiguring existing spaces. The previous Minister for education, Deputy McEntee, and I had numerous conversations in relation to putting a fund in place and those conversations have continued with the current Minister, Deputy Naughton.
Many schools come to us to say that they or their parents' associations have raised funding. It is something we have looked at very clearly. The Deputy outlined the journey St. Brendan's College has taken in relation to the additional accommodation on the new build and the extension. The Deputy is right: there are an awful lot of students who were in the school when all these plans were put in place and have long since gone into adulthood and are working well outside the system.
I will do two things on foot of this Topical Issue. First, I will go back to the Department to see if there is any mechanism for the immediate request. Second, I am very committed to the need to put a very simple funding stream in place for nurture rooms or quiet spaces. In mainstream education where they may not have a special class or special unit, they have children with additional needs. If there is a quiet space there, it helps the educational environment. We have looked at it. A lot of schools have raised funds for sensory gardens and quiet spaces which are all hugely important pieces of the education system and the best possible experience. I will first go back to see if there is any way we can help with the immediate request. We will try to find a route for schools in the future for a funding stream for nurture rooms or quiet spaces which would benefit the education system hugely.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21