Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate the update with regard to the review by the NCSE and that it is being taken as a priority. We will feed that back to the school immediately. It has potential but the worry is the criteria for the review. We do not know what the criteria are and if the same criteria are maintained from the first review, it would be unreasonable to expect any change. There are 48 children documented for this review in a population of 700 children. We are told these children would not go to school without their SNAs, with whom they have a relationship. They have highly complex medical, emotional and developmental needs. Simply put, three SNAs in that school is not enough. I ask the Minister of State again to appeal to the Minister. I would appreciate it.

Will the Minister of State highlight the following complex issue to the Minister? Kildare County Council has come to a dead end. This parcel of land right beside Scoil Mochua is the perfect location. Nobody owns it. It is beside a housing estate that was finished decades ago and it has it in writing that the developer does not see itself as owning that land. The developer has divested itself of ownership of that land, yet the council cannot take it in charge because Tailte Éireann no longer accepts a deed of waiver, which is where an owner divests. Instead, it needs to be 40 years of adverse possession. The school maintains it has had possession of this land for so long but in order to build, it will need agreement from Tailte Éireann. I ask the Minister of State to bring this to the Minister. Kildare County Council has done what it can. The school community has done what it can. The State needs to step in radically in order for those 18 children in three special classes to get the service they need in an expanding population in north Kildare. I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter with the Minister of State. The follow-up will be really appreciated.

Deputy Alan Dillon: I thank the Deputy for articulating the case for Scoil Mochua and the challenges it faces. It is no different than anyt other consistueucny. Indeed, I have faced many challenges regarding families and children deserving and demand access to resources. There is a challenging environemnt. I acknolwedge the particular circustamnces the Deputy mentioned. When one engages with the nCSE, it is responsive. It is being considered as part of the review process. On Tailte Éireann, I will work with the Deputy on how to engage with the Minister of State for local government and planning to see what solution can be provdied regarding the oppolrtunity for the school and for many families with chidlren with additional needs. Tailte Éireann falls under that remind int he Department of housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will work with him in that ergard. On the Department of Education's commiment, the Minister and MInister of State are focused on trying to build capacity in the special education sector. that inmvolves working with the NCSE and teh SENOs on the ground to allocate resources as best we can

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