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BreakingNews.ie
13 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
High Court action on the cards for lack of school places for children with special needs
Some parents of children with special needs who have no offer of a school place for September may have to consider whether to give up their jobs to take care of their children, the High Court has heard. Counsel for children who still do not have a school place, Brendan Hennessy BL, told the High Court that the final figure on legal challenges over the lack of school places for children with special needs could be as high as 50. Advertisement A total of 34 cases were listed in the High Court on Friday where parents are legally challenging the Minister for Education and Youth and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on the failure to provide school places for special needs children. Ms Justice Sara Phelan who is case managing the list said there was a difficulty as the courts reach the end of the legal year and nine dates in September as well as three days in July had been set aside to hear the cases. She said two judges will be available in September to deal with the challenges. The judge issued what she called 'a word of warning' that the Department of Education and the NCSE process in relation to the provision of school places should start earlier next year so it is not in the same position. Advertisement Ms Justice Phelan was told that by the State that places had been offered to children in seven of the cases . Hearing dates in July have been given for the legal challenges in three cases and four cases are expected to back those up. The judge was told that there are now twenty cases left on the High Court list in relation to children who have not got places for the start of the school term, but more cases are being brought all the time and the final figure could be 40 to 50 cases before the court. Counsel for the children Brendan Hennessy instructed by KM Solicitors asked that every court slot be allocated. 'Parents are worried that one of them may have to give up employment come September. All that parents want to know is do they have a guaranteed a school place,' he said. Advertisement He said parents will also need written guarantee confirmation of school places . Ireland Woman (42) jailed for acting as get-away driver fo... Read More He pointed out that the case of a seven-year old boy had settled at the end of last year on the basis that a the child would have a school place in April of this year when school building work completed. Counsel said the boy still has not got a school place. Counsel for the State parties, Tony McGillicuddy SC outlined to the court that in seven of the cases before the court, places had now been offered at schools. He said the Department of Education and the NCSE were forming a plan and streamlining the system so that what happened this year does not happen next year. The cases will be back before the court later this month.
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Plan to streamline school admissions amid criticism of ‘chaotic' system
A more streamlined system for applying to second-level schools will be piloted in some areas later this year in a bid to overhaul what parents describe as a chaotic and stressful applications process. At present, parents are advised to apply to multiple schools in areas that are heavily oversubscribed to boost their children's chances of securing a place in a local school. Many parents have complained that this approach results in long waiting lists and months of stress as they wait to find out if their child has secured a place. Minister for Education Helen McEntee has confirmed that a new common applications system will be piloted in a 'small number of areas' for the 2025-26 academic year. A commitment to extend it nationally is contained in the programme for government. READ MORE While details of how the system will operate have yet to be confirmed, it is likely to require a parent to make a single application that lists their preferred schools, in order of preference. This data will then be shared among participating schools in a local area. Common application systems have been in use in Limerick and Ennis – and for primary special classes in Dublin 15. 'My department is taking lessons from the implementation of these systems and building on the recent experience of data-sharing with schools to pilot an early iteration of a common application system at post-primary level in a small number of areas for the 2026-27 admissions process,' Ms McEntee told the Dáil recently. [ John Boyle: Our education system is in crisis after years of neglect. Now is the time for action Opens in new window ] Fine Gael TD Emer Currie , who has been calling for an overhaul of school admissions, welcomed the move. 'The truth of the matter is that parents go through a rollercoaster to secure a school place in areas like Dublin West,' she said. 'There are lengthy waiting lists that have to drop in order for children to attend school and it is very stressful. The principle behind a common system is uniformity to what is a disjointed applications process. Some deal with catchments while others deal with feeder schools, which can be very confusing for parents.' Ms Currie said a common system would remove duplicate enrolments, reduce waiting lists, promote collaboration across schools and flag capacity issues in schools issues much earlier. Almost half of all secondary schools across the State were oversubscribed last year, according to data seen by The Irish Times, with the highest concentrations in parts of Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Galway and Cork, where there has been rapid population growth over recent years. At a national level, the Department of Education says there are more than enough school places for children, with an excess of 10,000 places available for the 2025-2026 school year. There are, however, enrolment pressures in some commuter-belt areas. The Department of Education has confirmed that it is monitoring admissions in 'high enrolment pressure areas' in parts of Galway, Kildare and Wicklow and will put in 'specific accommodation solutions' to support first-year intake. It has pledged that every child will have a school place for September 2025. In many cases, families and public representatives say school place shortages are down to delays building new schools or expanding existing ones in areas of rapid population growth. Emma McCann, whose daughter Jamie (12) is on the waiting list for three local second-level schools, said the process felt chaotic and unfair. McCann said her daughter is 52nd on the waiting list for both Temple Carrig in Greystones and Coláiste Chraobh Abhann in Kilcoole – about 5km away – and 18th on the waiting list for Greystones Community College. 'I've been told the lists aren't budging,' McCann said. 'I was asked by the receptionist at one of the schools, 'Would you consider home-schooling?'
