Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the response and I know the Minister of State is delivering it on behalf of a different Minister but, basically, what we hear in the response is that there is one SEN classroom on the way in Loughrea. It does not exist; it is on the way. I know that four are approved and that the project is at stage 2a with the Department, but I ask that that stage be fast-tracked. In a town where there is not a single SEN classroom, we see in the response that there is a four-classroom SEN base awaiting approval for Loughrea in St. Brigid's College, where I myself went to school. It would be great to see that delivered. It would be a proud day for Loughrea for us to finally be able to say that we meet the needs of every student and, no matter their needs, we will provide for them and give them the education they deserve. That is what I want from my town, but I do not see it in the response. It is a priority, but I do not see any commitment to fast-tracking applications even though zero facilities exist in a town where there is a glaring and obvious need.

It is a passion of mine to see this delivered. I would really appreciate a more urgent response from the Minister so that she would commit to some level of fast-tracking in the case of Loughrea town. I do not know many towns in Ireland that cater for the needs of 24,000 people in an overall rural hinterland but do not have a single SEN classroom. That is not good enough in this day and age. I am passionate about this. I know I have gone over time. We need to see urgent action on this. Stage 2a still means there are years involved in this before we get to completion, and that is not fair.