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

I know schools in Carlow that have been told they are getting new builds. A commitment has also been given to one school in Castletroy, Limerick, which my own grandson attends, but there has been no further word on that. My concern is that while we have done a lot with schools and building, we cannot get any communication from the Department on delivery, timescale or if there is a priority list and who is on it. Lack of information is my big concern. Schools are told that they are getting a new build and then cost factors arise. The longer the schools are left before they are built, the greater the extra costs involved in the build. This issue really needs to be addressed.

Parents come to me, as we spoke about earlier, about ASD classes. In County Carlow, families travel an hour to get their child into a school because the buildings are not there. Yet, schools are told to accommodate children with special needs but there is no urgency in building. Schools tell me they will go with it and when they go back to the Department, it is like a ticking-box and there are about 100 papers to be ticked and then the Department looks for further information. There seem to be huge issues. While I know we have done a lot of work, I am aware of a particular school in County Carlow that is using a PE hall as a classroom. That is unacceptable. Other schools have come to me that do not have a proper playground area because they had to build on it. There are many issues. The longer it goes on, the harder it is to get answers - that is becoming the biggest issue.

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