Special educational needs in 'crisis' in Kildare South – TD

A Labour TD for Kildare South has warned that special educational needs provision in Kildare South is now at “crisis” point.

Deputy Mark Wall was speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, January 29 last.

Beginning his contribution with some “good news”, Deputy Wall said he wished to put on record his thanks to the Minister and the Government for the announcement of three additional special classes in Kildare South.

These classes, he stated, were in St Evin's National School, Monasterevin, St Conleth's National School, Derrinturn, and Scoil Bhride in Lackagh, adding their addition was “most welcome indeed.”

“Unfortunately”, added Deputy Wall, that is where "the good news stops" for many parents.

“My office has been inundated with calls and emails from worried parents who cannot find a special class or a special school place for this coming September”, he said.

“These are not isolated calls. It has now reached the stage where it is one of the biggest issues we deal with in the office on a daily basis.

"Parents in places like Kildare town, Suncroft, Newbridge, Calverstown, Crookstown and Athy, and at this stage almost in every other town and village in south Kildare, cannot find a school place and they are growing more and more desperate for their children.”

The Labour TD said there is a “clear demand” across Kildare South for autism classes and classes for children with mixed or moderate learning disabilities.

He told the Dáil that a number of parents from one school in Newbridge even tried the surrounding schools, only to find they were full.

According to Deputy Wall, while Kildare town has one of the biggest number of primary school children in the country, a number of local families cannot access a special class there.

Parents in the Ballitore and Narraghmore area, he added, have contacted “every local school in their area” yet they recently found themselves “numbered in the late twenties” for one local school that had one place.

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While Kildare South was also promised a new special school, this was eventually located in Craddockstown, which is in Kildare North, Deputy Wall pointed out.

“The current situation in Kildare South is at crisis. Parents who are holding down two jobs just to pay the mortgage and their other bills are being told to apply to other counties. One asked me today if there were not children in these other counties who needed a special class or school. The answer is, yes, there are and these schools in other counties are full too.

“I am dealing with one lady in Newbridge who has already applied to over 50 schools looking for a place for her child. We now see Government operating a drip-feed approach in terms of announcing new classes. This is simply not good enough and is only adding to the stress parents have...”