Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise today the issue of emergency accommodation for St. Teresa's Special School in Ballinasloe. There are only 115 or so special schools across the country. The challenge here is linked to an issue I have raised already in the House, an issue regarding Scoil an Chroí Naofa, the only DEIS band 1 school in Ballinasloe. It has no capacity to take on another special needs class so St. Teresa's, which handles children with moderate to profound complex needs, has been taking the flak over recent years. Its enrolment has increased from 11 students in 2011 to 27 last year. Despite this, it is operating in the same building. There is no space.

The school made an emergency application for two classrooms. I have engaged with the Department but I ask the Leader to see that this is accelerated. We are already at the end of March. Issues such as this are causing a lot of stress and anxiety for principals across the country. I know the Department and its officials are dealing with hundreds of applications and that Covid has had an impact and caused delays, but we really need a decision made on this. I know of ten students awaiting enrolment in September. There is nowhere in Ballinasloe for them to go.

It is not solely about this area of east Galway. The school caters for people from Roscommon as well. It has a huge catchment area. It has great staff who are doing great work. It opened its doors again only a few weeks ago. It was a joy for children to be able to go back, particularly when the closure of schools had impacted so much on their development. There are also great healthcare staff doing their best in the school. I hope to hear some sort of news in the coming weeks. It would be a relief to the principals to know that there is a plan in place for September.