Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for taking this matter. I ask the Minister for a report on the very special Carlow school, the Holy Angels School for Children with Special Needs, which I have raised on a number of occasions in the Seanad. It is an issue very close to my heart. I am specifically looking for a report on a new building for the school as we head into another school term this autumn with Covid-19 very much at the forefront of our minds. The Holy Angels centre in Carlow was established in the basement of Carlow's old district hospital in 1978 because there was a need for day care for children with special needs. It is still operating more than four decades later as a specialised preschool for children aged 18 months to six years with special needs and caters for children with a range of disabilities. They are in urgent need of a school.

Holy Angels school has been on the priority list for a new build for more than five years. The HSE has made land available at Kelvin Grove for the new centre and I would like to know if any detailed delivery plan for the new building is being set out because this has been going on too long. I am concerned that the site at Kelvin Grove, as I am reliably told, is on the vacant properties register but I also believe we are meant to be looking at locating a women's refuge on the site. That is welcome because the site is big enough. However, there is no concrete plan in place. The children, their families, the staff and the management cannot wait any longer as the current conditions in the school simply are not good enough. I reiterate that the staff in Holy Angels are among the very best in the country but it is not fair to expect them to make the best of things when it is clear they are operating in a school which is not fit for purpose. As we all know, early intervention is essential for children attending such a specialised service to develop new skills and reach their full potential. The children, their families, the staff, the management and the wider community are relying on me to ensure that the centre will get their long-promised school. Holy Angels is at the centre of our community in Carlow and it is a centre we all actively support in whatever way we can do so. For far too long they have been on a priority list for a school that is fit for purpose but they still do not have their school.

These special children need a place to go that is fit for purpose. Their families and the staff need a building that is fit for purpose to continue with the great job they are doing.

The programme for Government states that we must plan early for adolescents and young adults with care needs such as special education, disability services or juvenile justice so they too can play a valued role in our society. With all the current constraints on capital funding, can I get a commitment that this long-promised school building will be forthcoming for the Holy Angels day care centre? It worries me that after 40 years the centre is still housed in prefabs. It is disgraceful. Children with special needs are in prefabs. Last year the then Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, allocated a small amount of funding because the roof was leaking and there was a problem with the floor. If we do not get a new school I will have real concerns that the Holy Angels centre will not exist any more. I am seeking a commitment from the Minister of State. I look forward to hearing her response and I hope it is a good one.

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