Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister on the work she has done up to now in respect of the delivery of special education provision in Cork, particularly in recent months. I welcome the new special school that will be based in Carrigaline. That will make a massive difference in Cork, where there are acute problems. However, I will return to St. Gabriel's and the specifics of that case. The majority of special needs schools in Cork, particularly schools that cater for dual diagnosis, are full. Therefore, the problem in St. Gabriel's is not going away. I understand that as far back as 2018, a departmental official said that the Department was committed to the provision of a new school building for St. Gabriel's, that a new site was required to facilitate this and that the Department was engaging with a landowner in this regard. It is three years since that statement so we must move this forward. As far as I am aware, consideration is being given to joining another education provider on a new site. If that arrangement is not working or progressing, we must think about how to progress with St. Gabriel's alone on a new site.

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