2026-06-17

I want to highlight a deeply concerning situation facing Balscadden National School in my constituency in Dublin Fingal West. The school is simply asking for appropriate educational provision for children with additional needs. It has been informed by the Department that it will only provide a single special educational needs, SEN, classroom through a modular build. This decision appears to be based on the assertion that a two-classroom unit would require planning permission and would delay the project. However, the information available to the school raises serious questions about this justification. A report has suggested that a septic tank would need to be relocated to accommodate the two-classroom unit. The school disputes this and believes that the tank does not need to be moved. Furthermore, if planning permission is required, the additional timeframe is estimated at about 12 weeks. When we consider that the most optimistic opening date would be spring 2027, and that September 2027 would be a more realistic target in either scenario, it is difficult to understand why a long-term educational need is being sacrificed for a relatively short administrative delay. The reality is that the single SEN classroom would be filled immediately. Once it reaches capacity there would be no further places available until pupils reach sixth class. So what happens to the children who are coming in for 2028, 2029 and beyond? Are the families expected to wait years for appropriate provision? Are children expected to travel long distances because sufficient capacity was not provided from the outset? There are also significant concerns about the quality of provision being proposed. A singular modular unit comes with fewer facilities for children who will use it. In addition, the Department proposes providing only 50 sq. m of soft play space. The school believes this is wholly inadequate to facilitate meaningful reverse integration and inclusive educational opportunities. The Education Act makes clear that every child is entitled to the most inclusive education possible. Inclusion cannot simply be spoken about; it must be properly resourced and designed into our schools. A restricted space of 50 sq. m does not allow the level of interaction and integration that children deserve. Finally, the school community has been informed that its playground will be disrupted and effectively removed during construction. It is entirely reasonable that playground damage or loss as part of this project should be fully reinstated when the works are complete. I call on the Minister of State and the Department to urgently review this proposal, engage constructively with the school, provide a two-classroom SEN unit that meets future demand, ensure adequate outdoor space for inclusive education and guarantee the full replacement of the playground following construction. Our children deserve planning that looks beyond next year and provides for the future needs of Balscadden National School.

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the question and thank him for his ongoing engagement on matters of education, not just in the House but also his own engagement in it. It is important that we do so. I want to go to the school the Deputy raised. I assure the Deputy that the Government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential. The programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this important objective. I can assure the Deputy that the Department has been working closely with the school authorities in relation to the school's accommodation requirement and will continue to do so. The Department of education appointed a project manager who visited the school to examine the feasibility of providing two special educational needs modular classrooms at the school's preferred location on the school site. The Department was advised that due to a site-specific technical constraint only one unit could be accommodated at the school's preferred location. However, I commend the school's strong preference for proceeding with two special educational needs classrooms, and the project manager is now undertaking a revised viability assessment report, including examining the possibility of relocating the modular accommodation to an alternative location on the school site. The Department of education will endeavour to assist in facilitating this option. Once the process has been completed, officials from the Department of education will be in contact with the school authorities. The Deputy will appreciate that the Department is required to utilise the funding available to it to ensure that every child has access to a school place, and indeed there is a large demand for school places and class provision in the Balbriggan school planning area. I assure the Deputy that the Department is fully committed to the optimum special education needs accommodation solution at the school and will continue to engage with the school in this regard. It is important to note the project manager has been appointed and has gone out there. I could not but strongly commend the school authorities for wanting to go ahead with the two special classes. That is not universal but perhaps the Deputy might convey to the school authorities that we do appreciate that they are looking to the future as well. One of the things we have to bear in mind as a Department and a Government is the large demand for special education class provision in the Balbriggan school planning area. That is one thing we have to be very cognisant of as we move forward. I will give a commitment that we will work very closely with the school authorities to ensure we find the best possible solution there and to ensure engagement with the school authorities on it. By way of information, the Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is the statutory body for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with additional needs. The Department is guided by the NCSE in relation to requirements for special classes in the first instance. In order to respond to the urgent need for special educational needs class provision identified by the National Council for Special Education, my Department is progressing urgent building projects that involve providing modular accommodation for SEN class provision. This delivery method and modern methods of construction offer an extremely high-quality carbon-friendly building combined with fast delivery. In overall terms, it is important to have a range of delivery mechanisms for delivering school accommodation to support the very strong and ambitious roll-out of school building projects across the country. I assure the Deputy that the Department will be working very closely with the project manager and the school authorities in order to progress the delivery of special education class accommodation as quickly as possible. My officials will engage directly with the school again on the next steps for delivery of this accommodation.

I thank the Minister of State. I will convey this to the school principal, Mr. White. While seeking the two SEN classrooms is probably not as common as it should be, it is good to hear that the Department is working closely with the school. I feel that myself and my Dublin Fingal West colleagues are like a broken record at this point. It is the fastest-growing local authority area in Ireland. I am glad to see that facilities like this are being taken seriously, as is coming forward from the Department. From my own point of view, I am asking the Minister of State to continue that engagement with the principal, Mr. White, and the school community on this issue. It will certainly be used in the coming years and without a doubt it will future-proof one area of the north county. The school community is willing to provide the Minister of State with any solutions or any further input he might need that will work to find what we perceive as a better solution than that originally put forward. Engaging with them can bring a better conclusion. That is the outcome we are all looking for. I thank the Minister of State.

In all school projects when the Department engages, the Department is one side of it, the planning and building unit is one side of it, and there is the National Council for Special Education, which has sight of the numbers that are notified on a yearly basis. The most important ingredient as well is the school authorities and we have to bring them with us. The school authorities have the best interests of their communities at heart and they want to see what is the best option for them. In this instance, they are very clear in demonstrating that a quick fix in relation to one classroom will not meet the needs into the future. Where population growth is anticipated right across the country, we have to be very mindful that we have to future proof, so that we are not trying to catch up year after year and make provision for specialised education. There must be reflection on the points that have been made and the really serious engagement the school authorities have had with the Department on pushing the two classes in the overall decision that we are making. I assure the Deputy that the Department will continue to work with the school authorities and bear in mind the challenges that will arise not just in 2026 but into the future in the greater Balbriggan area as well. We will work closely and we will report back the Deputy.