Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has stated the need for additional school spaces and capacity in County Waterford will be kept under review but September is coming quickly for these families. There is no certainty and they have no information. The Minister of State has stated they should contact the SENOs and the NCSE. They are blue in the face from doing that. They have them on speed dial. There could not possibly be more engagement but what they need are answers and certainty. I implore the Minister of State on behalf of these families for the Department of Education and the Minister of State to take every resource they have available to ensure there are spaces for these children because, as Deputy Cullinane said, there will be children left without a space. The only option for those children if a space is not created for them is to sit at the kitchen table at home or to go without an education. It is not fair in 2025 in a modern country like ours for a child to forgo their right to an education, not just an education where they sit and wait but an education where they can thrive and fulfil their potential as human beings.

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