Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a serious lack of school places in Dublin West. At a recent meeting, the NCSE admitted that there are 13 children it knows of who do not have places for September. It knows and admitted that there will be more. We have children transferring to post-primary who have no school places, and even in one school, one child transferring from junior school has been told there is no place in the senior school on the same campus. This is not a shock because we were warned several years ago, when the first public meeting regarding school places was held in the Carlton Hotel in Tyrrelstown that resulted in the development of that new school, that they have only one place for 2024 and two projected for 2025. The Minister of State said, "It is important to note that we continue to see an increasing need for special educational placements". Yet, the Department is only looking at this now. I find that utterly incredible.

I want to raise the issue of St. Philip's national school in Dublin West, which is losing a teacher even though its numbers are up this year and there is a waiting list. It is penalised because they opened up an ASD class and this reduced their numbers for that year. As the Minister of State knows, the calculation for teacher allocation is not based on the actual figures for the coming year. The simple question the school is asking relates to why its appeal was refused when it is oversubscribed for 2024-25. I would like to pass that one on to the Minister of State, if she could please have a look at it.

I was contacted by a parent yesterday whose autistic child is out of school but has very successfully completed level 3 in iScoil. There is no level 4 in place to allow that student to continue their education. However, I am aware that the Department is looking into a level 4 iScoil programme. Could the Minister of State please provide clarity on this? I might pass this one on to her, and if she could get back to me I would really appreciate it.

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