Danu Community Special School building
Deputy Donnelly said Danu Community Special School is unsafe and unsuitable, with major design problems and no places available for children this year. The Taoiseach said he had visited, acknowledged the building was not working, and said an alternative site was being examined.
I met last week with the parents and staff of Danu Community Special School. It is clear that the building is not fit for purpose. It has serious design safety issues with students at flight risk on a main road. Its poor design has left the principal without an office. Poor design has left toilets with up to 40% of the classroom space plus a myriad of other design issues.
It is not sufficiently large enough to cope with the number of students with additional needs. Many are unable to access a place until 2024. In fact, there are none this year. There will be one place available in 2024 and one available in 2025 for the entirety of Dublin West. There is no plan for this year's cohort of students.
It is clear that long-term planning needs to start now with regard to children with additional needs in Dublin West and the school of horology is the perfect place. Everybody believes it is a perfect place. I know that some of the Taoiseach's representatives who met with school representatives said the same thing. I ask the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to visit the school to see the issues it has at the moment.
Comment on this
As the Deputy knows, it is a new special school. It is in addition to the education infrastructure and services we have in Dublin West that we have the special school. I have been to visit with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and I hope to visit again. I acknowledge that the building the school is in is not working out. We are examining whether the former institute of horology in Blanchardstown village could work as an alternative. I cannot make any solid commitment around that at this stage. We are examining that as a potential alternative, however. We will be happy to work with the Deputy on a cross-party basis to see what we can do for the school.