Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I want to draw his attention to a little school in rural Carlow. Fr. Cullen Memorial school in Tinryland is a digital school of distinction, a fair trade school, a green school, and a school which excels in sports, academia and extracurricular activities. It had an enrolment of 161 students for the past year but the numbers are growing. Fr. Cullen Memorial school has an autistic spectrum disorder unit catering for 12 students. When the school contacted the Department about its desire to have a proper autism spectrum disorder unit it was given sanction for two classrooms, which were listed on the Department's website for intake last year. When the school wrote to the Department asking for help in building sufficient accommodation for this sanction it was asked about renting the local hall or inquiring about a vacant shop across the road. None of these ideas was suitable because a sizeable amount of work was necessary to bring them up to scratch. Meanwhile, the school was offered someone else's Portakabin. Now it has 12 lovely children, four SNAs and two teachers working in hand-me-down Portakabin.The area is too small and the children are stressed out and deserve so much better from the Department of Education and Skills. Following on from an inspection earlier this year, the report states that the school's policies and provision for pupils with additional learning needs should be comprehensively reviewed to ensure more effective programme planning and implementation. The Department has been made aware of the need for more effective implementation yet the school believes it has been left to its own devices. In 2018, a portacabin is not sufficient accommodation. There are no changing facilities and this is a major challenge for a child on the autism spectrum who is non-verbal and has toileting issues. There is no withdrawal space, which is key in the correct education of children in this spectrum. The unsuitable accommodation is putting a massive strain on staff and an unnecessary strain on already struggling families. There is no reason these children should be taught in unsuitable accommodation.

We have to start showing that we mean it when we say all children are equal. It is distressing for young parents and families when their children do not get the support they need. If we aim to look after all children then we need to show it. This is a terrific school with a terrific principal who is doing her very best despite the fact she does not have an office. It is unacceptable that in 2018 this principal does not have an office. This school deserves better. It needs additional accommodation and it should have the opportunity to pitch for it. Enrolment at the school is predicted to increase in September. While the school has the necessary staff to meet this demand it does not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate it. In addition, parking at the school is so tight it is unreal.

Where on the schools building programme list is this project? It is important that the school is granted funding for the provision of these two additional classrooms. The school is creaking at the seams and it needs a little help. We need to know when this urgent accommodation will be provided. It is unacceptable that in 2018 children are still being taught in portacabins. It is not good for them, teachers, families or the school environment. These children are our future. I plead with the Minister to urgently address this issue.