Paul Murphy demands school places for children with additional needs
Paul Murphy called for urgent action to guarantee appropriate local school places for children with additional needs, backing a protest at the Garden of Remembrance on 7 June and citing the UNCRPD. He argued parents should not be forced to sleep outside the Dáil or stage nationwide protests and said it is unacceptable that children are denied education in 2025.
The speech highlights a planned protest on Saturday week, 7 June, at the Garden of Remembrance organised by parents, families and supporters. The protest is part of the Equality in Education movement demanding that children with additional needs receive the education, support and resources they deserve.
Paul Murphy said parents should not have to sleep outside the Dáil, organise public meetings or protest to secure a school place with appropriate support and staff. He framed the demand as consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and criticised the lack of investment, planning and political will that is leaving children without access to education.
He asked for a guarantee that every child would have an appropriate school place by September and urged direct engagement between families and the Department. He acknowledged that people have a right to protest and emphasised the importance of ministers meeting families to resolve issues.
The speech records a government response that the Department of Education is planning and investing in new and existing schools and is bringing forward projections earlier. He noted that Budget 2025 provided 400 new special class places and that 399 of those places have been sanctioned, suggesting further detail could be provided to deputies working with affected families.
Protest and national movement
The speech highlights a planned protest on Saturday week, 7 June, at the Garden of Remembrance organised by parents, families and supporters. The protest is part of the Equality in Education movement demanding that children with additional needs receive the education, support and resources they deserve.
Parents' demands and grievances
Paul Murphy said parents should not have to sleep outside the Dáil, organise public meetings or protest to secure a school place with appropriate support and staff. He framed the demand as consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and criticised the lack of investment, planning and political will that is leaving children without access to education.
Call for guarantees and engagement
He asked for a guarantee that every child would have an appropriate school place by September and urged direct engagement between families and the Department. He acknowledged that people have a right to protest and emphasised the importance of ministers meeting families to resolve issues.
Government planning and recent measures
The speech records a government response that the Department of Education is planning and investing in new and existing schools and is bringing forward projections earlier. He noted that Budget 2025 provided 400 new special class places and that 399 of those places have been sanctioned, suggesting further detail could be provided to deputies working with affected families.
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Transcript
On Saturday week 7 June 2 at the Garden of Remembrance, parents, families and their supporters will hold yet another protest to demand that their children with additional needs have the right to education just like any other child, appropriate education in their community as is outlined in the UNCRPD. The protest is part of a growing national movement, Equality in Education, demanding urgent action to ensure children with additional needs receive the education, support and resources that they deserve. These parents should not be forced to sleep outside the Dáil, they should not be forced to organise protests, they should not be forced to organise public meetings around the country. This is a very, very basic thing to have a school place with the support and staff that their children need to thrive. It is unacceptable that in 2025 children are being denied access to education because of a lack of investment, a lack of planning and a lack of political will. This protest is a vital opportunity to show that those families will not be silenced or sidelined any longer. Can you give a guarantee that every child, come September, will have an appropriate school place in their community? I agree with a lot of what you say in the sense that no parents should find themselves having to protest in relation to that. I would just say, you may or may not agree with me on this, but there is not a lack of political will. Everybody in this House wants to get this issue right. I believe the Minister has engaged with a number of the families involved, I know she is willing, as is Minister Moynihan, to do that again. I think that would be good to see that happen. People obviously have a right to protest and people feel quite rightly very strongly about this, but I think engagement directly with the Minister and the Department is important and I would like to see that happening and I know the Minister would too. It is our absolute priority, Lasky and Corley, to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place. The Department of Education are continually planning for this, continually investing in existing new schools, but also now bringing forward the time in terms of projections for the following year. That needs to happen much earlier. I know Minister McEntee is working on that. We have seen 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, and my understanding is that 399 of the 400 have now been sanctioned already and can get the Deputy a breakdown, which might be useful for the families that he is working with as well.