The special education crisis, which has plagued the government and families alike, is showing no signs of abating.
Despite assurances from Minister for Education Helen McEntee, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris that securing school places for children with additional educational needs was a priority of this government, it appears to be a case of history repeating itself.
Local Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne has taken up the cases of three children in his constituency – Riley McMahon, Lucy Lowry and Teddy Whelan – who all have additional needs and were left without an appropriate school place in time for the new term.
The children and their families, from Ballymun and Finglas, were told by the Department of Education that places would be offered to them ahead of the 2025/26 academic year, but these places failed to materialise.
Hearne called the situation “heartbreaking,” and submitted a letter to the Department of Education in a bid to force their hand on the issue.
Riley McMahon, from Ballymun, is on the autism spectrum and has an intellectual disability.
His parents were met with 13 different refusals from special schools.
Hearne raised McMahon’s situation in the Dáil via a parliamentary question, which was later referred to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) but, to date, no response has been received.
A similar situation occurred with Lucy Lowry from Finglas; despite sending in 28 different school applications, just one offer was made for an autism class on March 25 of this year, which they accepted.
Building works have not yet been completed at the school, and the Department of Education failed to engage with the school or the NCSE about an interim measure to secure a school place for Lowry.
Lowry’s father confirmed to Northside People that since the letter was hand-delivered to the Department of Education on Tuesday, September 2, they have received no response from Minister McEntee.
Hearne said that Lowry is “now at home, locked out of education and, with every day that passes, is becoming more and more distressed watching her sister going to school every morning.”
Her parents feel the government is failing their daughter and many other children,” the Dublin North-West TD said.
Teddy Whelan, from Finglas, is also on the autism spectrum and has previously been refused by several different special schools.
Following a long battle for therapy services, as well as a lengthy push by his family for an appropriate school, Whelan was finally offered a place in St Canice’s BNS, subject to the completion of building works.
However, Whelan’s family have still not heard from the school or Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) regarding his place and a possible start date.
The government’s much-touted plans to tackle the festering issues in Ireland’s education system has failed to make the grade.
Handing the letter in to the Department of Education, Hearne said “I am strongly urging Minister McEntee and her department, in collaboration with the NCSE, to act swiftly to ensure that Riley, Lucy and Teddy, as well as other children in similar predicaments, are provided with appropriate school places this year.”
“These children are most in need of appropriate school places and routines. The parents of Riley, Lucy and Teddy have fought tirelessly on behalf of their children. But they shouldn’t have to do this to secure their child’s constitutional right to an education.”
Calling the situation “heartbreaking,” Hearne said “the situation is stressful for each of these families.”
“In Riley McMahon’s case, his twin is neurotypical and has a school place. His father tells me that Riley is now getting his school bag and lunch ready and simply looking to go to school like his sibling.”
He said it was “wholly unacceptable” that McMahon has experienced 13 different refusals from schools and has no clarity about a school place in the first week of September.
In the instance of Lucy Lowry, an offer was received for a school place in Corpus Christi National School in Drumcondra after 27 other unsuccessful applications were made by the family.
Hearne criticised the “serious lack of clarity” from the school and the NCSE in relation to when the school’s new autism classes would be opened, with the family left in the dark about the opening dates.
He noted there was “conflicting information” about the proposed opening dates for autism classes has been provided to the McMahon family, and they had received no meaningful communication from the NCSE over the summer months regarding start dates or possible contingency plans.
The lack of organisation and clarity among Dublin’s schools paints a picture of disparity in Ireland’s education system.
Despite Ireland ranking in the top 20 countries in the world for education, the experience for neurotypical children or children with additional educational needs is severely lacking.
Hearne said, “it is their constitutional right to receive an education, and they are children most in need of appropriate school places and routines. “
Hearne’s party colleague Jen Cummins, party spokesperson on education, said, “it is completely unjust that these children have no school place.”
“For months before the summer recess, I asked at the Education Committee and in the Dáil chamber if every child now had a school place for the upcoming school term. Regrettably, I was never given a straight answer.”
The Southside TD noted that the building of school premises “takes time” and possible delays to any works should have been considered when assuring parents that their children would get a place.
“The Minister and her department previously gave assurances that children would have a school place in time for September. However, given the experiences of the three families, that assurance now rings hollow.”
In July, Minister McEntee said that investment in special education funding would be her “priority” as €7.55 billion in funding for Ireland’s education system between 2026-2030 was announced in July’s National Development Plan.
She previously said Cabinet that she would use “emergency powers” to compel schools to open additional special classes; this did not happen in advance of the 2025/26 academic year, feeding into the belief that the government says one thing about tackling the crisis, and does the opposite when push comes to shove.
With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael holding the Minister for Education brief for 11 of the 17 years since the 2008 economic crash, merely throwing money at the problem and hoping it goes away is not enough to solve the issue.
Speaking in May, local Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly articulated the paradox.
“I am always gobsmacked at how the Taoiseach can sound like he has only walked into the building and suddenly found himself in the position he is in,” he said in the Dáil in May.
“It is the same when I hear Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs who have actually been in power; some Fine Gael TDs have been in power for 14 years; that is 14 years of increasing waiting lists.”
The Dublin West TD says he deals with “dozens” of cases in his office, and “each parent is desperately trying to get a service for their child.”
“This really should be enough to bring a government down; it should be enough to call an emergency.”