Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Noel McCarthy (FG), Cork East

The Minister of State is aware of the Bridging the Gap Youghal group set up by local parents, who are doing tremendous work in advocating strongly that local gaps in special education provision be addressed. These parents are concerned because there is currently only one special school place available for the 2026-27 school year in the only secondary school in the Youghal area. Does the Minister of State appreciate the serious and legitimate concerns raised by these parents? The need for places is evident and only seems to be increasing. With this in mind, I ask the Minister of State to outline the dialogue he has had to date with this group, and his plans and the plans of his departmental officials to further engage with Bridging the Gap, the NCSE and the education and training board, ETB. If the Minister could arrange a meeting with them, I would really appreciate it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28