Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy and Councillor Marie Murphy for their work on this. I was looking into this and there are approximately 17 new special classes sanctioned for County Tipperary for the coming academic year. I think there are nine at primary level and eight at post-primary level. This is in addition to 138 special classes currently in operation in County Tipperary and three special schools in the county which have approximately 409 students enrolled. One of the five new special schools for the coming school year is going to open in Nenagh.

I take the point about Ballyporeen and how upsetting this has been. My understanding is that the school received sanction based on potential local demand for special class places and based on the information the school had available accommodation to host a special class. I am sure there are people locally who will contradict this, but I am saying what I am being told. I am being told this was not the case and the school did not have available accommodation and the class could only be supported in an external location property that needed to be rented. The NCSE re-evaluated the situation and was satisfied that the needs of the children locally could be met in another way. I know this is not to the satisfaction of the school or the local community, and in light of the Deputy raising this matter, I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, to engage with him on the matter directly.

See this speech in context