Some children in Finglas are currently receiving just two hours of schooling a day in a community hall while they wait for autism classes that were promised for this school year.
Parents say they have been left devastated after learning that the long planned special classes at Finglas Parochial National School will now not open until at least 2027, despite being sanctioned more than a year ago.
The delay means families who believed their children would finally have a proper school place are instead trying to build their lives around drastically reduced school hours while the promised classrooms remain undelivered.
Two special classes at Finglas Parochial National School were sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education in early 2025 after families and campaigners spent months pressing for additional autism class places in Dublin North West.
However, the buildings required to accommodate those children have still not been delivered.
Planning delays and administrative hurdles have stalled the project, leaving the school unable to open the classes as originally intended.
Parents of children with additional needs held a 24-hour sleep-out at the Department of Education in Feb 2025 over difficulty accessing special education school places.
Families say the situation has left them struggling to understand how classes sanctioned more than a year ago for the current school year are still not in place, with some children receiving only a fraction of the education they were promised.
In the meantime, a temporary arrangement has been set up in a local community hall where children attend on a reduced timetable.
The intake has been split into two groups, with one group attending for two hours in the morning and the other attending for two hours in the afternoon.
While parents acknowledge that the temporary arrangement has provided a vital lifeline, they say it falls far short of the full school day their children are entitled to and urgently need.
Rebekah Clarke, whose son Arlo was due to start school last September, said the delays have taken a heavy toll on her family.
“Arlo was due to start school this year and we were counting on Finglas Parochial.
“We were also offered a place in St. Canice’s, but that class wasn’t delivered until very recently.
“The constant uncertainty has made it incredibly hard to plan our lives. Routines have been disrupted, work has been affected, and we still don’t know when our children will finally get the proper school place they deserve.”
For other families, the delay could push their child’s entry into formal education years beyond the normal starting age.
Leanne Roche said her son Logan has been rejected by multiple schools because he requires a dedicated autism class.
“Logan has been rejected by school after school. He needs an autism class and there simply isn’t a place for him.
“If these classrooms don’t open until 2027, Logan will be eight before he starts junior infants.
“Most children his age will be in second class, preparing for their first communion.
“There is no excuse good enough to justify what has happened here, Logan and his classmates have been failed totally and at every turn.”
Maria Conroy, whose daughter Rosie is five and has been attending the temporary classes in the community hall, said even the limited hours available have made a noticeable difference.
“Rosie has come on so much even with the few hours she gets in the hall. It shows how much these children benefit from the right support.
“I gave up a place for Rosie in PALS preschool because we were promised a primary school place here.
“Now we’re being told the buildings won’t be ready until 2027. It’s devastating and I am terrified at the prospect of Rosie losing progress or regressing because of this.”
The families have been supported by the campaign group Equality in Education Dublin North West, which has been campaigning for more special education places in the area.
Councillor Conor Reddy (pictured above), a co founder of the group, said parents had fought hard to secure the classes and that the school itself had made enormous efforts to deliver them.
“Parents fought hard to get these classes sanctioned. Finglas Parochial NS is a progressive, inclusive school that has gone above and beyond to get these classes delivered but they have been frustrated at every turn.
“There has been minimal Departmental support for the school through the planning and procurement process and no focus on delivery from the state.
“It’s shocking and what makes it worse is the illusion of new places government politicians carefully cultivated in the media around the announcement of newly sanctioned classes last year. It is beyond cyncial!”
Rachel Lowry, co founder of Equality in Education Dublin North West, said the current arrangement could never replace a proper school place.
“Two hours a day in a community hall is not a proper school place.
“These children deserve the same chance at education as every other child.
“The Department must now urgently set out how these classrooms will be delivered this year, 2027 is not good enough.
“We will do all we can as a community to support the children in these classes, their families and the school itself.”
The issue was raised in the Dáil last December when Dublin North West TD Paul McAuliffe questioned the Department of Education about the long promised classes at Finglas Parochial National School.
During the exchange, Minister of State Michael Moynihan confirmed that two special classes had been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education and that the school had been approved for accommodation to support them.
He told the Dáil that modular accommodation was planned to provide one special class while existing space in the school would be repurposed to facilitate the second.
Grant funding had been approved to support the work but the project was subject to a planning application.
According to the Minister of State, the local authority had requested further information on that application and a response was being finalised at the time.
He said project management supports had been appointed and that departmental officials would continue working with the school to deliver the project.
Deputy McAuliffe told the Dáil that while families had welcomed the sanctioning of the classes, the interim arrangements were creating serious difficulties.
He said temporary provision had been set up in a local community hall but only on a part time basis because the space was used for other purposes.
“The difficulty with that is that many parents moved their children from full time places either in other schools where they were not in an ASD class or from a preschool where there was dedicated special education,” he said.
“They have gone from a situation of being in full time education to now being in reduced hours because the local community hall is being used for other purposes.”
He warned that reduced hours for “six or eight months” could have a significant impact on both children and their families and urged the Department to ensure the project was completed as quickly as possible.
Responding, Mr Moynihan acknowledged the difficulties facing parents and said the temporary arrangement had been introduced while the planning process continued.
“That is not acceptable to us but it is the way we have had to do it for the last couple of months,” he said.
He also insisted that funding had already been approved for the project and that the delay was related to planning requirements rather than a lack of departmental commitment.
“We are deeply committed to fully funding this project. Money is approved for it. The planning issue is delaying it somewhat.”
The Minister of State told the Dáil that the Department would continue working with the school authorities, the NCSE and Deputy McAuliffe to ensure the classes could open fully.
“It is important that we get this over the line and return the children’s full time education places,” he said.
However, more than three months after those assurances were given in the Dáil, the school is still waiting for the promised facilities to be delivered.
For the families involved, the issue is no longer about planning applications or departmental processes.
It is about children who were promised a proper school place this year but are instead receiving just two hours of education a day in a community hall while they wait for classrooms that may not arrive until 2027.