Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The Holy Family school in Cootehill is very much still in limbo with regard to funding for the provision of new school accommodation. I seem to have received the same reply every time I have raised this issue since I became a Member of the House. There does not seem to be any commitment to make financial provision for this project. This year alone I raised this matter on the Commencement on 11 June and 25 June. I wrote a letter to the Minister in July and received a response dated 8 July. The stock answer from the Department seems to be that priority is afforded to where population growth has been identified and the education system faces a demographic challenge.

The Holy Family school in Cootehill caters for people with severe and profound learning disabilities, moderate and multiple learning disabilities and autism. This September the student population increased once again. The school's figures have continued to rise in recent years and it has already had to move the goalposts repeatedly to cater for the demand for places every year. What needs to happen in order that this project can finally get funding? What is the definition of demographic need or population growth?

These parents do not have the luxury to pick and choose where to send their children. The catchment area for the school is beyond a parish or town and even beyond the county. It serves a number of counties and parents must send their children there to receive the high standard of education and care which the teachers and staff provide. This is a particular demographic with a very real and pressing need. The growth in demand for places every year is very real. The need for wheelchairs and other specialised equipment in use in the school must be considered. Current space is used to its maximum capacity and it is unfair on those children to be taught in this environment.

The teachers, staff and parents are doing their best, but it is time for the Department to intervene in a very real way. This week the Government announced capital funding for education. Speaking on the budget in the Seanad yesterday, the Minister of the Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, mentioned health, education and social protection and stated, "Our commitment to our citizens in these areas requires that we consider these trends into the future and make plans accordingly." He later spoke about "our prioritisation of special education needs". It is very clear the Government needs to put its money where its mouth is and use the capital funding allocated for education to provide new accommodation for this school and its students. The need is there as is the trend, and according to the Government, so is prioritisation. I respectfully ask that funding be put in place once and for all or that we have clarity on when funding may be made available. It is not included in the five-year construction plan, but we now have this capital funding together with the emphasis on special educational needs and the trends and demographic growth. The school will not be able to cope much longer if more students keep coming. It needs new accommodation as soon as possible.