Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne has said that the government are failing children with additional needs in Finglas.
The Dublin North-West TD told the Dáil that schoolchildren in his constituency, who were promised additional school places, have yet to receive them.
“Most children are into their fourth week of school, but five-year-old Roman from Finglas still has no school place. Roman has been diagnosed with autism and a global developmental delay. Roman and his mother have been scandalously failed by this government and by the Department of Education,” he said.
“Jade, his mother, has had to work night and day alongside her actual employment to try and get Roman a school place, contacting school after school and the NCSE, but to no avail. The lack of a school place for Roman is taking a massive and extremely worrying toll on her and her family,” he explained.
Hearne told the Dáil, “Jade is upset all the time, she is stretched thin. This mother is being pushed to the edge, she is actually at breaking point as a result of the failure of the state to provide an appropriate school place for her child.”
“She has had to reduce her work, and she is now forced to decide each week which bill will not be paid as she tries to mind her child at home. Her employer has been extremely understanding so far, but time is running out for her.”
“Jade asked me to ask the Minister if she has any idea of the effect this has on parents of children with additional needs. She contacted one local school, which said it could offer a place in a mainstream class if it was guaranteed resources from the NCSE,” Hearne explained.
“Then the NCSE said that it would not provide any guarantee of resources and would review potential resources when the school provides a place for Roman and that it would assess if resources are needed.
Hearne called the situation “utterly scandalous,” with Jade further stating “this is a total lack of respect for my Roman, his diagnosis, his education requirements, my family and me.”
“The Department and the NCSE won’t give the funding for an SNA, so clearly the most vulnerable children, children with disabilities, are being left at home rather than paying for an SNA,” Hearne relayed.
Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne
Jade said that she is “extremely concerned” about Roman’s potential regression.
Hearne said, “I am extremely worried about his mother and the impact on her and the family. This raises the issue of parents having to reduce work hours and the stress that is on them to make up for the state’s failure to provide an appropriate education and support to children with additional needs, which it is responsible for.”
Junior minister Marian Harkin trotted out the same government line that they are “committed” to securing additional school places, but as previous reportage on this issue by Northside People has proven, there is a deeper systemic issue at play.
Regardless of how much the government spends on the issue or allocates in the Budget, the fundamental attitude remains the same.
In her previous role as Minister for Education, Helen McEntee told the Dáil in 2025 that it was her intention for all children with additional needs to be offered a place.
For the second year in a row, the promise has failed to materialise, leaving parents in the lurch.
Hearne raised the issue of the lack of progress being made at Finglas Parochial National School, with the school being promised new buildings, but the deadline keeps slipping through the cracks.
The Social Democrats TD “I really do think the parents deserve a very clear date as to when that will happen. My understanding is that it was committed to be delivered in September and we are getting very close to the end of September. It really should be in place.”