Imelda Goldsboro (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to the House.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Ó Múineacháin, as teacht chuig an Teach inniu chun an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a phlé.

As the Minister of State is aware, Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig is the oldest primary school in our rapidly expanding town and can trace its roots back to the establishment of a school on Station Road in 1862. It is a primary school that caters for the educational and developmental needs of boys in our community, and the school's principal and management team work in close co-operation with their counterparts in Scoil Mhuire Girls' National School, which is directly across the road from Scoil Eoin. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has long highlighted the lack of special education places available for both primary and secondary school pupils in the greater Ballincollig area, which now has a population exceeding 25,000 people.One of the unfortunate results of this is that local children often have to travel far from their homes to locations such as Cork city centre, Berrings, Farran, Kerry Pike or Macroom to attend school, often involving long bus or taxi journeys of up to 45 minutes. This is a significant additional burden on top of the difficulties and challenges being faced by these pupils each day. On two occasions, in 2013 and 2017, the school explored the possibility of providing autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classrooms but on both occasions felt it was not in a position to do so due to a lack of accommodation and space. In 2020, the NCSE, through its local special educational needs organiser, SENO, met the school principal and vice principal to discuss the possibility of providing ASD and special education classes. On that occasion, heartened by the positive and supportive stance of the NCSE and the SENO, the school's board of management decided that it did wish to express interest in providing the much-needed ASD classrooms.

In February 2021, the SENO informed school management that three ASD or special classes had been sanctioned by the NCSE. This was confirmed in correspondence from the Department of Education in April 2021. However, in September of the same year, the school received a follow-up email from the Department of Education stating that the Department’s technical team had completed an in-depth review of the site and had, unfortunately, determined it would not be possible to provide the requited accommodation on-site unless vast amounts of existing single-storey accommodation was demolished and replaced with two-storey accommodation. Further, the email stated the Department was not in a position to provide funding for the significant demolition of the school building.

Notwithstanding this setback, the NCSE reiterated its stance. An email dated January 2024 stated that the original sanction for the three autism classes, dated 2 February 2021, still stood due to the demand for the opening of special classes in the Ballincollig area. The knock-and-rebuild proposal remains the only viable option for Scoil Eoin to provide the much-needed ASD classroom spaces for the school and our community. The school has been frustrated by the lack of progress or information from the Department of Education since its meeting with the then Minister for Education in May 2024.

I was delighted, as was the school community, to hear the Minister of State's recent commitment, in response to a question put forward in the Dáil, to engaging with the school, for which the school is very grateful. Will he clarify the Department of Education's position so that Scoil Eoin can plan for its future with the certainty and support it deserves?

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. First, I welcome the students from Ballyvourney, in my constituency of Cork North-West, to the Gallery. I hope they will have a very enjoyable trip around Leinster House and see how things go here. It is always a great day when students come to Leinster House. Sometimes, people remember it forever.

I congratulate Senator Kelleher and wish him well in his role. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to outline in Seanad Éireann the issue related to Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig. To give a brief outline, the NCSE actively encourages expressions of interest from all schools to open special classes. I appreciate and commend the efforts taken by the board of management in expressing its interest. However, it is not always possible to open special classes in every school that expresses an interest. When assessing the needs in the local area, the NCSE identifies schools in the neighbouring vicinity with available special class vacancies or capacity and assesses their capacity with consideration to the demographics and data it has.

The National Council for Special Education acknowledges that circumstances may change, and these schools will remain as potential options for future classes. I compliment the SENO team right across the country, but in County Cork in particular, on the work it has done over the last while. The local SENO team remains available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. In respect of Scoil Eoin, the Department of Education received an application in 2021 under the additional school accommodation scheme. The application was for funding for the provision of three special education classrooms. The Department of Education's school building technical team carried out an in-depth review of the school site in 2021, as alluded to by the Senator. The review confirmed that the school and site were at maximum capacity and it would not be possible to provide the required accommodation on site unless a vast amount of the existing accommodation were demolished and replaced with two-storey accommodation. Considering all the relevant implications for delivery of the brief of accommodation and the site constraints, the project was not deemed viable.

The Department of Education continues to engage with the NCSE regarding the provision of special classes at primary schools in the Ballincollig area. School building projects in my Department's pipeline will deliver 11 additional and replacement special classrooms at primary school level in Ballincollig this year. While the priority in the first instance will be to use existing available accommodation capacity within Ballincollig, the Department is also engaging with schools on a potential requirement for modular accommodation to meet the near-term needs for special classes.

I spoke in the Dáil and to a number of colleagues on this matter. I will liaise with the school authorities. I have spoken to some of the school leadership on this. I will continue to liaise with them to find a suitable solution because I understand Scoil Eoin is eager to deliver special classes, for which it is to be complimented. I commend the work it is doing. I will endeavour to liaise with the school to see if we can get a resolution.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I emphasise the importance of direct engagement with the school on the issue of available funding. Much of the school's current accommodation is outdated and not fit for purpose. For example, the building that currently accommodates fourth, fifth and sixth classes does not have a wheelchair-accessible toilet, which has meant these classrooms cannot accommodate the needs of some pupils in the school. Of the school's junior infants intake for the coming 2025-26 school year, a number of pupils have already been diagnosed with autism. Without a suitable alternative plan, these pupils will be taught in mainstream classes without access to a special class and the additional supports it would provide.

The school community is grateful for the Minister of State's recent commitment to engage with them. I ask him to revert at the earliest possible opportunity to clarify the exact position and to help the school to plot a path forward in its funding request for the ASD classrooms it is looking to provide.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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There are a number of issues involved, including site constraints and the building itself. Notwithstanding the commitment of the board of management and the school community to additional special classrooms, it is important that we commend anybody who raises a hand looking for these. Not everybody does that. We have to acknowledge that.

This year alone, 53 additional classrooms are being made available in County Cork - 35 at primary and 18 at post-primary. I will continue to liaise with the school authorities to look at the issues, take the report that has come back from the technical team in the Department and work with the school community to try to find a resolution of the issue the Senator raised, but that will be in the long term rather than short term.