Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

Deputy O’Sullivan raised various issues. The details of the review are between the board, the NCSE and the Department. Much work has been done by these three over the past month or six weeks. I pay tribute to everybody concerned, including in St. Gabriel’s. They met immediately on the Friday after the Thursday night on which the issue was raised with me, and they have continued to engage.

A reduction in hours is not on the cards. We want to ensure that proper resources are allocated to St. Gabriel’s to ensure it can provide care to and meet the education needs of all its 54 students. It is a matter of supporting the school with SNA resources. If there are related training or support needs, we are available to meet them. We are engaging in a very coherent way with St. Gabriel’s and we will continue to meet the needs of the school authorities and, more importantly, the education and care needs of the students within the school.

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