Local Fine Gael TD Emer Currie has said that parents go on a “rollercoaster” to secure a special school place for their children, and the rat race needs to end.
Speaking in the Dáil prior to the Easter break, the Fine Gael TD raised concerns with fellow party colleague Minister for Education Helen McEntee about the struggles facing parents and children alike in her constituency of Dublin West.
Dublin West is one of the fastest constituencies in the country stretching from Blanchardstown in the West to Ashtown in the east (with Castleknock and Ongar in the middle), and Currie said that a scheme trialled by 13 local schools in Dublin West should be rolled out nationwide.
Last December, Northside People reported on how a number of local schools trialled what was called the Common Application Process (or CAP).
CAP allows parents to send in a singular, unified application to schools, saving parents time and mental resources involved in filling out the same form to many different schools.
Currie has praised the initiative and is calling on the Department of Education to introduce the scheme on a wider basis.
In the Programme for Government, which was published in January, the document reads “this government will introduce a new common application system for children applying to special schools and classes to make it a more straightforward experience for parents.”
McEntee said, “we are working very closely with schools and patrons to ensure that there are sufficient places available each year, what is key to this, the new online system and the new application system is good data-sharing between schools and my Department is working on that as well.”
As far as Dublin 15 is concerned, the Minister said “I commend Deputy Currie, in particular, and those on the Dublin 15 task force, including parents, teachers, principals, the NCSE and many others, who have been working to develop the common application system.”
“What they need to do now, and they will be supported in this through the Department and the NCSE, is move onto the next stage, having completed the first year of this programme.”
“The feedback so far is positive, but for this to work effectively, we need more schools to be part of this overall experience. The Department is taking lessons from the secondary school trial, with a view to developing a new commitment for a national system.
She added that a pilot expanding on the ones that are happening in Limerick and Ennis will start in 2026 and 2027.
“This is about making sure we have the best system possible so that stress is removed from parents, and in particular from those who have children with additional needs,” she told the Dáil.
With the next academic year just around the corner – in May and June 2024, Northside People ran a number of articles about the concerns of local parents and educators about the looming lack of special places for the upcoming 2024/25 academic year – Currie has asked if the Department of Education is ready for the wave of applications coming their way and if schools will be ready for September.
Currie sought an update on the status of Danu Community Special School, noting that while five primary school classes and four secondary school classes have been approved for the area, there is an emerging issue of potentially inappropriate classroom conditions in Danu.
Minister McEntee said that the first tranche of funding for Danu has been put in place, and on-site crews are working to secure a fire certificate.
“Progress is being made, and we want to see it in place as soon as possible while the new build is being put in place,” she said.
Currie said that modular buildings were not appropriate for children with additional educational needs, an issue raised by Northside TDs in recent weeks.
On the coastal area of the Northside, all five TDs from Dublin Bay North have all agreed to put party differences aside to work on the issue of inappropriate classrooms school in Belmayne Educate Together Secondary School – local Fianna Fáil TD Tom Brabazon went so far as to call the plans “stupid.”
As far as Dublin West is concerned, Currie does not want to see a repeat happen in her constituency.
Local Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger called on Fianna Fáil Minister of State Mary Butler to apologise for her comments she made in April about people with autism and ADHD.
Coppinger, who has made disability issues a feature of her two stints as a TD along with a councillor, criticised Butler for her comments where she said that diagnosis in autism and ADHD were a “trend.”
Butler’s comments irked Coppinger, not least because 2013 research from the Economic and Social Research Institute found that children from working-class backgrounds, boys in particular, are more likely to be identified as having an additional educational need.
Dublin West, which contains working-class areas, has a high incidence of children with additional educational needs, and Coppinger has been vocal about this over the years.
Coppinger accused Butler of “gaslighting” families on the issue when asked by RTÉ, which led to Butler apologising for her comments.
Butler said “I fully understand and recognise the need and value of an identity-affirming diagnosis of ADHD and autism for a person, and the importance of timely access to assessment, diagnosis and support.”
The government chief whip insisted her comments were taken out of context, saying, “it is unacceptable to me that a child or young person in need of specialist support from CAMHs would wait up to 18 months. That was the focus of my comments, and I want people to know I am determined to improve and expand ADHD services for people of all ages.”