John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

First let me recognise all of the good work that has been undertaken by the Department of education and various Ministers, and the huge changes that have taken place in the delivery of school projects and school courses, in accommodating students, and the developments in the third level sector. Today we are talking about a word-class education system. I will focus on a few things that are relevant to my constituency but they feed into the title of this debate. The Jonah Special School, Roll No. 20380B in Slieverue, which caters for students with autism and ADHD, was promised a new building. It was told it was getting it and that the money was allocated and yet it is still in the same building waiting for delivery of a state-of-the-art school. It is accommodating the most vulnerable students in our society. I want to know why that is not going ahead now.

I want to ask about a teaching post in Ballyragget National School Roll No. 20506U. It went through the system. The fact that it was denied a teacher will result in it having at least 30-plus pupils in a classroom, causing serious accommodation issues. Yet, because it did not fit into the pigeon hole it did not get through the appeals system and it will now be denied that extra teacher.

I turn to the Presentation Secondary School, which is a magnificent building that was constructed alongside the original school, which is now almost complete. I want to see an AstroTurf pitch provided for it because it gave up its sporting facility. It would be wrong to allow the construction to be completed without that provision. This again goes back to the title of this debate today, which is for a world-class education system. We have to give our students the very best.

St. John's senior and junior national schools in Kilkenny will amalgamate. This will cause a lot of difficulties because it is two different sites and a new school will have to be constructed. I want to see the principal position being retained in the junior school. The principal is retiring and a recruitment process is in place but there is an absolute need to have a principal in the senior school, which is a distance away from what is known as "the lake school". I would like the principal to be sanctioned in that lake school and be appointed. Then let us get to the various phases of the amalgamation, including the physical amalgamation in one building.

The St. John of God National School in Windgap applied in late December 2023 for repairs to the roof. It is still waiting for approval to carry out those works. These are issues that need to be dealt with.

The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, arranged for the school bus operator to come in. I have always said, and I am going to say it again, that it is time we put this contract out to tender. It has told us it is now €90 million in deficit. I would like to know what is happening in that company. Why, within EU procurement rules, is the Department not being forced to go out to tender on that service? Students are being left at bus stops and at their schools. There are issues around the provision of a transport system from Gowran, Mullinavat, Ballyhale and Kilmacow. This has gone on for years and it has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the parents whose children attend those schools.

The last issue I will refer to is the fact that parents who have a child with autism or ADHD cannot get a place in the system. They are as important as any other student in the system. There are kids in Kilkenny who cannot get a place. Their parents are out hunting for a place. I ask that the Minister and the Minister of State would address this issue. It is not good enough. We had it on Tuesday when discussing the assessment situation. It is time to address the issue and have officials on the ground proactively working with the families.

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