I want to raise the case of Gorey Hill school in Gorey, County Wexford. This is a school for learners with complex learning needs aged between four and 18. It was officially opened only at the beginning of 2025, although it had been in operation from late 2024. Part of the reason the school was opened was that there was so much pressure on St. Patrick's Special School in Enniscorthy that there was a need for additional places in counties Wexford and Wicklow for young people with complex learning needs. In fairness, through co-operation between the Gaelscoil, An Foras Pátrúnachta, the patron body, Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board and the Department, this school was very quickly able to get off the ground using a number of areas within the Gaelscoil that were not in use. There is also on the site a very successful naíonra, a preschool provision, operating through the Irish language. This school is extraordinarily well run. I pay tribute to all the staff there. It is among the first schools that are going to be rolling out the new educational therapy services. However, we are already we are into a situation where this new school is full. The school has to inform parents and others as to how many places will be available. For the 2026-27 school year, there are no new places for admission into the school and that is because the school is already full. There is a proposal to expand the school. There is a modular development being set out. There is a concern, and rightfully so, among some of the parents in regard to the Gaelscoil and the naíonra and the potential impact it may have on play areas if a modular building is put in place, thereby limiting the number of play areas and parking spaces within the facility. There is strong support for the school, but consideration has to be given to the impact on the existing Gaelscoil and naíonra. What guarantees are in place in the context of additional places? For those who want to have places in the school from this September, if the modular building is proceeding, has there been consultation with the parents, the naíonra and others who are going to be impacted if it goes ahead? Will the building require planning permission? What is the timeline in that regard? More importantly, the intention in respect of this provision was that it was to be an interim measure. The long-term goal was to have a specially built, fully functioning new special school on a greenfield site. The reason we know this - the Minister of State knows it as well - is that north Wexford and south Wicklow is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. There is a huge demand for special education. We already know, and I know from talking to primary school teachers and parents, about the demands for places within this school. Our long-term goal is that we get the commitment that was made - a very clear commitment and timeframe for the building of a school for those with complex learning needs. It is important right now, in the immediate term, that we spell out exactly what is going to happen to ensure there is sufficient provision within the immediate community.

Sentiment score: 0.21

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is taking this on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, who has indeed visited Gorey Hill School. There is an acknowledgment in here that the school is already at capacity and that there is greater demand. The concern I have in regard to the answer that has been provided is whether regard has been had to the potential impact the proposed modular construction will have on the play area, car parking and ancillary services that exist on the site already, and if there has been a sufficient level of consultation around this. Everyone wants to see the school grow, but this should not be at the expense of either the Gaelscoil or the naíonra. I would encourage that there should be consultation with the parents who are concerned about that but, as I said, they are incredibly supportive of the school in the long run. This is in an extremely busy area of the school. We have a second level school, Creagh College, with 1,000 pupils in the area, as well as not just the Gaelscoil but two other primary schools, all within a couple of hundred metres of this site. It is already an extremely busy educational campus. There are obviously concerns that if we are looking at expanding educational facilities on the same site, some of that will have a knock-on impact. I certainly support and want to see the development of the school. As an interim solution, the modular solution is what may be necessary and the creation of the school was done at breakneck speed, for which I really praised the Department. It was what it needed to do. I am concerned, given the projected growth in population plus the demand within the area, that in the long term this modular extension is potentially seen as the long-term solution. We in north Wexford have been told many times that when we get a new school, that is the last school the area will get and yet, the population continues to grow and we eventually get an additional school. The Department needs to go back to the drawing board and have a long-term plan to ensure that we have a greenfield site for the building of a new special school in the area.

Sentiment score: 0.30