Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2021-05-12
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Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF), Cork South-Central

I do not have much to add to what Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan said. I can be critical of the Minister, but I commend the provision of the new school in Cork. That is very welcome and important. I will take this opportunity to point out that it is unfortunate that the medium- and long-term plans of another national school were discommoded in that regard. I urge the Minister to ensure that this school gets a solution. It is vital that the Owenabue Educate Together national school gets interim and long-term accommodation as well.
To return to St. Gabriel's, it plays a crucial role. There are few other options for those families and children. Ultimately, it needs a permanent solution. Interim solutions are welcome and if they can improve the building, that is great. However, it is not going to be the long-term solution. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan is right. There has been talk about other education providers and so forth, but this has been ongoing for years. Ultimately, we must make a decision.
Mr. Thomas and his team run a fantastic school supported by parents and staff but the site and buildings are not fit for purpose and are past their sell-by date. We need to move this on. We cannot keep waiting. It needs delivery. Will the Minister give us a sense of when we will know there will be a permanent site? I accept she cannot necessarily tell us what the site will be.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-05-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-05-12