Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will obviously take a very special interest in the issue raised. These are important matters in terms of educational inclusion. I thank the Deputy for raising them.

Kolbe Special School, which is under the patronage of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary Services, caters for students with severe to profound general learning disabilities. The school provides education for children aged between four years and 18 years. The school's most recent enrolment data indicate that there are 39 pupils enrolled for the 2017-2018 school year. The staffing allocation for the current school year includes a principal, seven teaching posts and 16 special needs assistants.

As the Deputy is aware, a building project, which involves the construction of a replacement school building for Kolbe Special School, is included in my Department's six-year construction programme. This school building project, which will comprise a single-storey building of 2,265 sq. m will provide a schedule of accommodation to include eight classrooms, a general purpose room, a library and resource area, a woodwork and art room, an exercise-therapy room and various ancillary spaces.

The schedule of accommodation for the new school was developed in consultation with the National Council for Special Education. The schedule has been issued to the school authorities and has been favourably received. To facilitate the development of the proposed new school, my Department has acquired a 1.433 ha site from the Health Service Executive at St. Fintan's, Portlaoise, County Laois, for the project. My Department is currently finalising the development of the project brief with a view to progressing the project into architectural planning at an early stage. As an interim arrangement, my Department gave approval to Kolbe Special School in late February 2018 for the provision of a temporary classroom to meet the growing current needs at the school.

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