John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming in today to discuss this issue. It is certainly an important issue for me and more important, for the community of the Cooley Peninsula in north Louth. This issue was brought to my attention a week and a half ago by Ms Síle Murnaghan who is the principal of Monksland National School. It was brought to my attention because of the inability, perhaps, of Ms Murnaghan to successfully engage with the Department over a number of months after the Department approached representatives from Monksland National School in January of this year to ask whether they would like two special classrooms to care for pupils with autism. Naturally enough, Ms Murnaghan and the board of management jumped at such a proposal and were delighted to have been asked. They thought this could be September 2023 and that they would be able to have children ready by then. The Department came back and said it actually wants them in September 2022, which is excellent. That shows the ambitiousness of the Department in being able to provide special classrooms for children with autism.

On the back of that, the local community and pupils who would avail of this were identified. We pretty much have ten children, which covers nine families, enrolled for September 2022. This week, we approach 1 July, which means 1 September will be roughly eight weeks away by the end of the week. As of yet, we are still waiting for the final confirmation from the Department that the money will be made available. I have all the information for the Minister of State in terms of the timeline from when the Department first got in touch on 26 January. This is without seeking to cast aspersions or apportion blame because that stuff is in the past. I am speaking on the floor of the Seanad today on behalf of the parents, pupils and teachers of Monksland National School to get this project over the line. I am not trying whatsoever to apportion blame to anyone within the Department. The current state of play, however, is that a submission was sent in a number of weeks ago in terms of the costs that would be needed to go ahead with this. That was supplied by the planner. Only last week after I raised this in the Seanad did the Department get back in touch to say it needs a further breakdown of those costs. That breakdown is now going back into the Department. Hopefully, once that breakdown goes back in, the Department will be able to approve it straightaway.

We only have eight weeks left to make sure these two classrooms are built and ready to welcome new students in September. I think we can do it within those eight weeks. Let us be very clear about it, however. Eight weeks is an incredibly short timeframe to get the level of infrastructure and facilities needed into a small rural national school in north Louth. I firmly believe there was quite a delay through administrative errors on the Department's side. As I said, however, I did not come to floor of the Seanad to try to find a scapegoat. I came here to try to find a solution. I really hope that through the offices of the Minister, Deputy Foley and Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, when the final bit of paperwork is submitted - which is a further, more detailed breakdown of the costs - there will be absolutely no delay in the decision from the Department and that it will be approved. Then, we can get on with having this school for the community and students that dramatically need it come September.