Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Taoiseach to engage with the Department of Education, the Minister for Education and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, as the issues and dire circumstances experienced by the only Educate Together school in my constituency in Clare require urgent and interdepartmental attention.

In the programme for Government there is a commitment to ensuring plurality and delivering choice in education. The Educate Together school is one of two multidenominational schools in Ennis, but it has been consistently and critically under-resourced. The staff have been educating in temporary structures since the school opened in 1998. The school is dealing with many issues, including rodent infestation, ventilation, dampness, insulation and many other health and safety issues. The school does not even have a single interactive white board. A large proportion of the children at the school have complex additional needs, which means that the Government has even more of a responsibility under the EPSEN Act 2004, the UNCRPD as well as the programme for Government.

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