Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

I want to raise an urgent and deeply concerning issue regarding the opening of a new special school in Balbriggan and the 18 children who have been allocated places there. Parents were given the news to a fanfare of local government and Oireachtas Members tripping over themselves back in April to be the first ones to announce on social media that the school would open in the 2026-27 academic year. Because applications had been made, places were allocated and families made decisions based on the information they were given at the time.
The parents I have spoken to have said securing special school places for children with additional needs has been hugely important to them. Families have waited and hoped for these places and when their child was finally offered a place, parents understandably believed that the arrangements were in place for their child to attend. In this case, however, that confidence has been completely undermined by a serious failure in communication. Throughout the summer, parents repeatedly sought updates. They were told that a meeting would take place in early August and that information about the opening arrangements would be provided, but no clarification came.
Towards the end of August, families were told to keep their children in their existing education placements. At that stage, however, it was too late. Instead, families were left believing the children were about to transition into their new school, only to discover at the last minute that this would not happen as expected.
If families had been clearly advised at the beginning of the summer that they needed to retain their child's existing school place as a contingency, they would have made those arrangements. They have also been offered home tuition, which my office has done its best to try to find but, unfortunately, that is also completely full. We are now talking about 18 children with additional needs who have already faced weeks without appropriate education provision and now could be facing into months of this. That is not a minor administrative inconvenience.
For a child with additional needs, school provides more than just a classroom education. It provides structure, routine, communication opportunities, social interaction, special support and a sense of security. When that is suddenly removed, there can be serious consequences. One family described their child as crying themselves to sleep, has asked through his communication device for his old school friends and has watched his siblings go off to school in the morning while he stays at home. His mother told me she feels completely lost in trying to advocate for her son. Since being out of school, that child has experienced increased distress, severe meltdowns, difficulties with sleep and regression in toileting skills that had taken huge time and effort to establish. That is the real-life impact of this situation.
It is important to recognise parents cannot simply recreate a special needs school environment in their home. Many of these parents are already providing huge levels of care. They are being asked to manage children whose routines and supports have been disrupted while trying to care for other children and maintain their own family responsibilities. I promised my constituents I would ask the Minister of State to confirm an opening date for the school.
When will these children be able to take up the places they have been allocated? Parents should not be left in limbo and expected to simply manage the consequences themselves. If a child were absent from education for weeks without proper explanation or arrangement, questions would be rightly asked. It is then equally reasonable for parents to ask who is accountable when their child is left without appropriate education provision because of a failure in planning or communication.
Will the Minister of State urgently provide a clear response to these families and a firm timeline for the opening of the school? These 18 children have waited long enough. They deserve their education, their routine, their friendships and the specialist support they need.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30