I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. If he does not mind, I will depart a little from the script with which I have been provided. It is hugely important. We are talking about inclusion and making sure we get the best possible education for children with additional needs as they go through primary and post-primary school. As the Deputy rightly said, we are announcing more special classes. We are really trying to make the education system fit for purpose in meeting the needs of students with additional needs. As with other countries, we have seen the need growing across Ireland and the OECD. I have said many times that I shudder to think what is happening in the undeveloped countries. We are really trying to come to terms with it. The Deputy mentioned St. Raphael's, Stepping Stones and Saplings special schools. I met representatives of Stepping Stones last week. I meet representatives of special schools regularly and have been to a huge number of such schools across the country. I applaud the work that is being done in the special schools and in special education, in particular. The Deputy mentioned special schools and I have met their representatives. From this week on, I will be having a number of regional meetings with the principals of special schools right across the country. We are starting an engagement process in Sligo on Friday. It will be right across the country. We will be meeting the leadership in special schools to get an understanding of the challenges that are being faced. The Deputy raised the issue of the State exams and certification. It is hugely important that we have uniformity at the very core. The Deputy mentioned his representation in relation to certificates being issued. That is simply not good enough. We have to make sure for the student cohort who are going to special schools. A huge amount of work is being done in the schools and by families to equip students for life after school with the best possible engagement and fulfilment they can have in the life they lead. If we are true to the word "inclusion", we must include everybody. A lot of work has gone on in relation to designing the junior certificate and, indeed, the leaving certificate at the special school level. It is important we ensure that at the end of that process, it is the very same for the students who are going to the special school, in that the certificate is issued and we work through the various challenges to make sure they are on the same level as their peers in mainstream education. It is something we are looking at very closely. I intend to make sure that happens. It is not the case for public representatives; I know the Deputy is deeply invested in special education. He has spoken to me many times over the last 12 or 14 months or so in relation to the challenges that are being faced, and I appreciate that. We had a very successful visit to the Deputy's part of County Kildare recently. I actually saw first-hand the excellent work that has been done in some of the school communities there, which I mentioned in various discussions we have had not alone in the Department but in the wider sphere as well. To address the Deputy's point, it is important that the student cohort who are going to special schools earn the same recognition as any of their peers. We have to ensure that the certificates are generated and issued within the State exams system within the Department. I can assure the Deputy that it is something we need to address because it is an issue that has arisen. We are working on it, and we have a lot of work done in designing the various schemes over the past while to have it student focused as well. It is something I intend to take very seriously.

Sentiment score: 0.35

The Department is keenly aware of it. There is always room for improvement and we are very understanding of that. We are challenged every day to make sure the education system is improving into the future right across the education system and, indeed, for special education as well. What we are going to invest in special education now will have huge benefits for students, families and society in the long term. I firmly believe that it will give a greater understanding. Parity of esteem is one thing, and automatic certification is hugely important. We have to stand back and say that students who are going through special schools or special education must have parity of esteem with their peers. At the core of inclusion is ensuring students have the same rights and attainability and ensuring the best possible outcomes when they go beyond school. We did introduce some funding this year for the transition period from schools to adulthood. That is something I would be very keen to address. I addressed it again last night during Private Members' business. I take the Deputy's points. I can assure him that this is something we will very much take on board. We will work very closely with the Deputy in relation to this. I am very keen to see automatic certification. The key phrase is "parity of esteem" so that everybody is treated equally and we understand and acknowledge the work that is being done by students, their families and the school communities and give recognition to that. I will work on that with the Deputy. I thank him for his engagement and his interest in special education over the last while. As I said, it is important that we, as Members of the House, continue to advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable because it is by that we will be judged.

Sentiment score: 0.33

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. If memory serves, in a previous incarnation in a previous life, he raised this issue at an education committee. That is going back some time. I thank him for raising and outlining the issue in relation to Lucan Community College. The Department of Education and Youth is progressing the delivery of a large timber frame modular extension to Lucan Community College. The project will deliver nine additional classrooms, a science laboratory and preparation area and a design and technical graphics room. Construction has already commenced on site. This delivery method and model of construction offers an extremely high quality, carbon-friendly building, combined with fast delivery. The Department officials are engaging with the school patron, the Dublin-Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, and the school authorities in relation to progressing this accommodation. They remain available to provide support on this project, including the scope for repurposing some of the existing classrooms for special education provision. The National Council for Special Education is engaging with the school authorities in this regard and, of course, the Department has a repurposing scheme which provides €30,000 for start-up grants for each new special class and up to €70,000 for repurposing existing accommodation for special classes. The Deputy will be aware we recently published €7.55 billion in sectoral investment for education across the education system, and a lot of that is due to a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritising school building projects which meet the most urgent need. In this regard, there will be a strong special education dimension to projects being rolled out. The Deputy mentioned the families in the school. There is a project being moved ahead, which I outlined in earlier comments. We, in the Department, will continue to work with the school authorities and the patron body, Dublin-Dún Laoghaire ETB, to ensure needs are met within the Lucan area. We see a huge amount of investment going into school building projects across the country. Over the past five or six years, extraordinary funding has been spent on them. However, when it comes to individual schools - as I indicated, this project has been discussed for a long time, going back a number of years to when the Deputy first mentioned it at meetings - it is important we continue to liaise. This first phase of it is on-site. This allows us to get very good high-spec projects built, and to get them delivered in faster time. We have seen many challenges in relation to projects going on too long. I will endeavour to liaise with Department officials in the planning and building unit to ensure the entire need of the school community, not just this building project but the entire need, is met. I thank the school authorities for their engagement with the National Council for Special Education and the Department in relation to provision of special education, which is a huge core in any building projects we are doing, that is, to ensure we have a provision for special education. I will endeavour to ensure the Department and Lucan Community College continue to liaise so that the needs of the school community and the community at large are met in any new developments.

Sentiment score: 0.27

I thank the Deputy for outlining the challenges within the school community as well. It is important we have the best possible school environment for all students. Every student, no matter what their ability, must have a positive experience within the school. Phase 1 of the project is on-site and for delivery. The quality of the building going in is top class, as I understand it. That is moving at pace. The Deputy is looking for clarity in relation to how we are going to do the next phases of the project. I will liaise with the planning and building unit in the Department and with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to ensure we get clarity for the school community, the school authorities, the ETB and the parents and students as fast as possible in relation to phases 2 and 3 and the building of it. I will endeavour to do that. I take the points the Deputy raised in relation to the toilets and so forth very seriously. They do not rest easy with me. I will bring those points back to the Department and ask it to liaise with the Deputy in relation to the next phases. It is important the phase that is under way is completed as a matter of urgency because it shows that we intend to invest in Lucan Community College now but also into the future so that we best serve the future needs of the school and the community. I will endeavour to do that.

Sentiment score: 0.24

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. I compliment them as constituency TDs because nearly every issue they raise is done on a cross-party basis. It is great to see it because education is so important. It is very important to be unified. We have had a number of issues with the Deputies we are working on but it is important to acknowledge the co-operation they have on this. This shows me the challenges there are in relation to the school and the decision that was taken. A major project for the school was to build 20 mainstream classrooms along with additional classrooms for special education needs and associated work. This project is currently at stage 2a of architectural planning, where the preferred design option is developed to a stage where the project can be fully cost planned, and prepared to lodge for statutory approvals. The Department received that submission in July 2025 and a detailed review is ongoing. Part of the submission review will include a stakeholders meeting between the school authorities, design team and project manager, which will be held once the stage 2a report has been reviewed. It is important because that is the crucial piece. We have that report a number of months at this stage and, as Deputy Murphy quite rightly said, the officials confirmed to him we have it, so we need to move that on to the next stage. What is exasperating people in many of the questions I am answering here on an ongoing basis is the delay in getting school buildings beyond the design and the initial thoughts. The Deputies have demonstrated quite clearly there is need for this school and the Department has accepted it going back over a decade or so. It is important we move with the submission that is there. On the immediate issue with the roof, I wish to clarify if there is an application in for emergency works for that. I will endeavour to go back to that application to see where that is at rather than give lip service to it in the Chamber. I understand the seriousness of it because of the co-operation between the Deputies. I will endeavour to find out where the submission is at, how soon we can get that reviewed and on to all the stakeholders. There is a lot of detailed planning that goes in to ensure we are getting the best possible outcome. The Government has committed a huge amount of funding over the past number of years and into the future to school buildings across the country. At school visits I have made, we have often see there are major challenges with the buildings. I will go back to the Department and ensure the submission received in July is reviewed in a timely manner and that engagement is brought back to the stakeholders, including the school authorities, project manager and so on. I will endeavour as well to ensure I can report back to the three Deputies on where the current application for emergency works is.

Sentiment score: 0.26

With any funding going in from the State to new schools and buildings, it is important we have the special education part of it as well. That is a decision that has been taken by us in the Department to ensure we are accommodating children with additional needs within any new build. I take the point it has been 12 years. There was mention of 2011 and 2014. It has been too long. There is a report in with the Department and I will endeavour to find out where that is at. I also take the point that sometimes we spend an awful lot of time, effort and money to try to patch something up while we are waiting for the essential build. Deputy Crowe mentioned four years until completion. You are looking at a number of cohorts of students who started out thinking this would be completed by the time they were completing school and then it takes another round of students to go through the process again. I will look to have a meeting and serious engagement with the Deputies and the Department of education to ensure we can prioritise this and make sure any road blocks that are in the way are moved but also that we understand the challenges. Right across Dublin it is great to see schools that have space because we are really challenged with space in a lot of Dublin school communities. However, there is space here so we need utilise it and ensure we do that. I will endeavour to find out what is happening with the report that is with the Department since July 2025. I will also endeavour to undertake the Deputies' request. I thank them very much.

Sentiment score: 0.16