In the 1970s a group of forward-thinking individuals set up a voluntary committee to meet the needs of children with special needs in south Tipperary who were at home and not receiving an education. The town of Cashel now boasts that it has the invaluable service provided by two special schools, Scoil Chormaic and Scoil Aonghusa.

Some 320 special needs pupils from all over County Tipperary and parts of the bordering counties of Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Limerick and Offaly attend both schools.

Scoil Aonghusa is experiencing a major crisis at present. A child attending the school will have little or no speech and may never acquire it. He or she will find it very difficult to learn new skills and will need support with daily activities such as mobility, toileting, eating, dressing, washing and keeping safe. The children have health problems including seizures and dietary and digestive issues. They have sensory issues such as visual impairment and-or hearing impairment. They have psychiatric conditions and difficulties with social skills. Without a doubt, these are some of the most vulnerable children in our society, yet there is shameful neglect and under resourcing of special schools.

Scoil Aonghusa has 97 students with intellectual, physical and huge complex needs in a building which is totally unfit and unsuitable. It was originally built in 1985. Some 80% of the students are non-verbal, 30% are physically disabled and 50% present with varying degrees of aggressive and destructive challenging behaviour, with the ability to cause injury to themselves and others. Due to overcrowding, four classrooms have been rented from an adjacent property. Some 19 junior ASD pupils have to be transported on a daily basis from the school to another rented building in the town, which is a mile away. Ten students, who have life-limiting conditions, are sharing a classroom which was built for six. There is no proper PE hall or assembly area. There is one changing facility in the school with a hoist for the needs of the children. There is no longer a dining room because it has been turned into a classroom. The children are eating in their classrooms.

Traffic congestion is a huge issue. The area is an accident waiting to happen. It is chaotic because 27 buses use the only entrance to the school building to enter and exit twice daily. Some 60 staff enter and exit through the same entrance. A boxroom is called a doctor's consultation area, but it is simply too small and unfit for purpose. The school is relying on the generosity of staff, parents and friends of the school to fundraise in order to meet the small shortfall from the Department. Parents have told us of their frustration, desperation and sense of isolation due to the fact that their special children cannot access adequate supports and services.

Children with special needs in our society do not have a voice. Scoil Aonghusa, on behalf of its pupils, is appealing to the Taoiseach to intervene and recognise the ongoing crisis it is living with on a daily basis. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure that we can expedite a new building and facilities on the Scoil Aonghusa site.

The Government's aim is to ensure that every child, especially those with special educational needs, can fulfil his or her potential and avail of all of the educational opportunities available to him or her. During the worst years of the recession when public spending was cut across the board, it was one of the areas which was protected from spending reductions. In fact, resources grew throughout the recession and continue to do so.

The Department targets policies and supports for students with special educational needs to support their participation and progression across the continuum of education. For example, last year the Department of Education and Skills invested €1.78 billion in the special education budget, which is now almost a fifth of the entire education budget and is more than we invest in higher education. There has been a 44% increase since 2011, when the change of Government occurred.

The number of special needs assistants increased during the same period by 32%, from 10,575 to 13,990. As I said, we now have more special needs assistants in the country than we have gardaí or doctors. The number of special classes has also increased by 120%, with over 600 new special classes opened since 2011. We now have 1,100 special classes. The new model for allocating resource teachers to schools has been successfully introduced, with 900 additional teachers allocated from September last year to support the model and ensure that children with special needs can access the teaching supports they need.

That is a reflection of the enormous needs that exist in our community but also of the Government's very large and robust response.

I understand that Scoil Aonghusa has applied for major capital funding for the provision of 12 new classrooms, a general purpose hall and additional ASD facilities, together with improvements to mechanical and electrical services. The application is currently being considered by the Department of Education and Skills. Arrangements are being made by the Department to carry out a technical site visit in the near future in order to assess the existing accommodation and how best to provide the accommodation required to meet the long-term needs of this particular school. I will ask the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, to update Deputy Lowry once the site visit has taken place.

It is important for the Minister for Education and Skills to understand that the school building committee has sourced and purchased land adjacent to the current site. The school committee has also privately funded the drawing up of plans which have been submitted to the Department. The principal of the school has clearly stated that the current situation cannot continue and that all possible adaptations of the existing building have already been exhausted. The critical state of the existing building means that staff are in constant and imminent danger. Already this year, three members of staff at the school are on injury leave. That cannot be allowed to continue. I ask that the Minister for Education and Skills address the chronic overcrowding and the unacceptable lack of facilities at Scoil Aonghusa. What we need is an urgent action plan to address and remedy what is an intolerable situation for management and staff at the school and the pupils who attend it.

I am informed that the enrolment of the school for 2017 and 2018 is 97 pupils. That represents a 28% increase over the past five years, so this is clearly an expanding school - with a growing number of pupils - that is responding to the needs that exist in the local community. In terms of the Department's capital budget, its first priority when it comes to school building is what it has to be, namely, building new schools in areas of increasing population. This is because we cannot have a situation whereby there are children looking into empty fields and not having schools to go to at all. A huge amount of the budget is now being taken up by building new schools, very often in rapidly expanding areas where there are new families and no schools at all. That has to be the priority. Obviously, once that is covered, we can then move on to improving, upgrading and extending older schools. As I said, what is intended now is that a site visit will take place. When that happens, the Minister for Education and Skills will update the Deputy on the progress being made.

That concludes Leaders' Questions which, again, have run significantly over time.