Holy Family school Cootehill
Deputy Smyth raised the condition of Holy Family school and asked when works would begin. The Chair ruled the matter out of scope for promised legislation and the Minister said the Deputy had already tabled a private notice question.
According to a commitment on page 86 of the programme for Government, education "is the key to giving every child an equal opportunity in life." The Holy Family school in Cootehill is a special national school for pupils of four to 18 years of age from the entire Cavan-Monaghan catchment area. It caters for pupils with severe to profound learning difficulties, moderate to multiple learning disabilities or autism. More than 160 children attend the Holy Family school and it is the only facility of its kind in the constituency.
It is more than five weeks since Oireachtas colleagues from all parties and I visited the school to meet parents, staff and the board of management to discuss-----
Comment on this
It is on the programme for Government.
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The Deputy is stretching it. This is for a parliamentary question or a Topical Issue.
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Please, let me finish. The other Deputies and I were appalled to see the conditions at the school. My question is simple and we have discussed it with the Minister - when will work on the school begin?
