Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Wednesday, 1 Jul 2026

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed)

Bus Services

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

In recent years, there have been some improvements on the bus transport in Limerick city, with routes such as the 310 from Annacotty to the city centre being rolled out. These new routes and improvements have to be welcomed, but significant gaps remain in the provision of bus services across Limerick city. Condell Road in Limerick is an example in this regard. Hundreds of new homes, which were built in recent years and in which families and workers live, are located on this road and in the surrounding area. The road itself is well laid out and has a significant amount of bus infrastructure, including a bus lane, yet there is no local bus services in the area. I do not understand how such a densely populated area with the necessary infrastructure in place does not have an active bus service.

The Kilteragh estate in Dooradoyle, where hundreds of homes are also located, has no bus service. The nearest bus stop is located outside the Crescent Shopping Centre, which is 2 km away. Another area that is lacking a bus service is that which lies between St. Mary's Park, the most deprived area in the whole city, and the Garryowen area. While the area has a bus route, the service ends at 6 p.m. The latter is due to a legacy issue dating back a number of years and that needs to be resolved in order that we can see the return of a proper bus service. The area in question has the lowest level of car ownership in the city, with an estimated 57% of householders not having access to cars. In addition, the population in the area is ageing. Having their bus service end before nightfall is absurd in this day and age.

We have faced major challenges in making the Limerick city centre a liveable and enjoyable place. Efforts have been made to improve the city and make it a more attractive place to visit and enjoy. We have had some great success with the promotion of King John's Castle as a music venue, Thomond Park and the annual Great Limerick Run. In light of the need to revitalise the city, it seems extraordinary that the residents of St. Mary's Park and Garryowen cannot avail of public transport to visit the city centre.

We are also trying to promote a more sustainable future. The use of public transport is crucial in this regard. Not everyone has the luxury of their own vehicle, yet there are populated areas of Limerick that do not have access to a properly functioning transport system. To date, BusConnects has achieved some progress, particularly in the context of services on new roads, and there has been an increase in passenger numbers. In Limerick, however, the BusConnects project has been marked by shortcomings in planning, funding and delivery. It is nearly a decade since the announcement of BusConnects and the projected completion date of 2027, but the timelines across the area to which I refer have been pushed out to 2030. The project has been plagued by delays and postponements. In Limerick, frankly, it has not been delivered. The costs relating to the project have spiralled, with an estimated increase in cost from the initial €1 billion to between €2.6 billion and €3.4 billion. We have already seen a four-year delay in the delivery of BusConnects, which has impacted the economic development and liveability of Limerick.

When raising the issue of University Hospital Limerick on many occasions, I have spoken about the growing population of Limerick and the wider mid-west region. The growth in population also makes the delivery of a functional, affordable and viable public transport system critical. Limerick BusConnects has the potential to transform connectivity within the city and between its suburbs, thereby improving access to employment and education, reducing congestion and delivering on commitments relating to sustainability. I see no desire to provide this urgently needed funding for BusConnects in Limerick in order that it can progress. This must change. The Minister of State needs to ensure that the necessary funding is provided promptly.

BusConnects across the State is yet another example of the Government's consistent failure to meet target delivery dates. Of course, it has failed, with costs in excess of initial estimates. I urge the Minister of State to get onto the National Transport Authority, NTA, to tell it to end the delays relating to BusConnects in Limerick, to get the project back on track and to get bus services delivered for the people who need them.

Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Jerry Buttimer)

I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I commend the Deputy on raising the matter because it gives us the opportunity to provide an update on BusConnects in Limerick. I will take this opportunity to highlight some sustainable mobility developments in Limerick more generally. I will bring the comments the Deputy made regarding the gaps and deficits, as he sees them, in the service back to the Minister and the Department.

The Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy has been developed by the NTA in the context of delivering an accessible, integrated transport network that will enable the sustainable growth of Limerick up to 2040. I take on board some of the comments the Deputy made about Limerick being made liveable in the context of the redesign of the city centre. The latter includes the development of the bus system and the Limerick BusConnects programme. It is fair to say that good progress has been made in delivering the strategy, including BusConnects Limerick.

In 2023, the NTA carried out an extensive review of the Limerick bus network. This review was conducted in collaboration with Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council and Bus Éireann, and was supported by the specialised expertise of the transport system designers Jarrett Walker and Associates. Following public consultation, the NTA published its final new bus network for Limerick in December 2023. The redesign of the bus network is one of the nine key elements of BusConnects Limerick that aims to transform the city’s bus system, making public transport more useful and accessible to more people.

I take the Deputy's point that not everybody has a car. People should not have to own cars, particularly in cities like Limerick or Cork. The new bus network will enable more people to avail of public transport resulting in increased access to a greater number of schools and workplaces across Limerick city. Limerick is a college city. That is part of the whole network system. Overall, 41% of residents will live within 400 metres of a high frequency bus route, running every 15 minutes or better. Limerick is the first city in Ireland with a fully electrified bus service, with two phases of charger installation works coming on stream at Roxboro bus depot during 2024 and 61 zero-emission buses in active service today.

Regarding future phases of BusConnects Limerick, and the BusConnects programmes across the cities more generally, the NTA will publish its detailed national development plan implementation plan later this year, which will set out the elements of the programme to be progressed in the coming years within available funding to 2030. This follows on from the publication of the national development plan, NDP, sectoral investment plan by the Department of Transport last November, and the publication of the NDP review last July. In addition, the NTA is also preparing a BusConnects programme progress report. This report will set out the latest position across the programme, including developments in relation to network redesign, infrastructure delivery and overall programme progress.

In addition to bus-based improvements, the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy also recommends a number of improvements to rail infrastructure, including a new rail station at Moyross. Planning permission for this station was received from Limerick City and County Council in October 2025. The project has progressed into the detailed design phase, with procurement preparations under way. It is currently planned to commence construction later this year. Other rail interventions include increasing the frequency of services on the Ballybrophy line to up to two trains per hour, double-tracking the line from Limerick Junction to Colbert Station and upgrading Colbert Station, a project that was successfully completed in November 2024. People are now benefiting from the improved facilities at the station, including the new car park, ticketing facilities, bus concourse and set-down area.

The NDP sectoral plan also contains an allocation funding for the delivery of a number of priority rail projects by 2030. I will pass that back to the Deputy, particularly as has received a copy of the Department's response.

I will take the Deputy's points regarding the areas he mentioned back to the Minister. I again thank him for raising this very important matter.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

As stated, good progress has been made regarding transport in the mid-west, but we still lag way behind other areas across the State. Last year, I published a report on bus infrastructure in areas on the north side of Limerick City. It clearly showed that working class areas lack basic services and that they had no bus stops, signage or bus shelters. Some work was done on the back of that report. Some of the signage has been put up in the Ballynanty area where I live and where was no bus stop or signage previously.

I want to mention the 303 bus route that runs from Ros Mór to Kileely to Moyross. There is a very good and reliable bus service on that route, with buses leaving every 15 minutes. We are doing an active travel scheme in the area at the moment. What they have done with the route, with buses coming onto O’Callaghan Avenue from Kileely and then onto the High Road and Thomond at Johnseys shop, is very dangerous. The road has been narrowed so much that buses have to mount the footpaths on both sides. Somebody is going to get seriously injured unless something is done. The engineers involved in the active travel scheme have told me that they will look at what has happened when the project is finished. We cannot wait for that. The other day, someone walking on the footpath was nearly killed. That because buses cannot turn the corner without mounting the footpath on one side or the other. Buses often bypass this area, which they are supposed to serve, on their way to Moyross.

In the absence of BusConnects being done, I call on the Minister of State to ensure that the bus service in the St. Mary’s Park and Garryowen areas is extended and that a proper service is provided. There is a bus service in place, but it comes to an end at 6 p.m. each day.

We also need a bus service for the Condell Road. We cannot wait for that. There is potential for the bus that serves Pineview Gardens to also serve Condell Road. When the Knockalisheen Road is opened, this problem could be solved. If we really want people to use bus services - I do and I use buses when I can - they have to be safe, reliable and affordable.

Deputy Jerry Buttimer

The Deputy is correct. Bus services need to be safe, reliable and accessible. I will take the points he made about the areas he mentioned back to the Minister.

The Deputy referred to active travel. There needs to be collaboration between the NTA and the city and county council with regard to the issue to which he referred, particularly in the context of safety. If we are doing active travel, it makes no sense for it not to be safe for road users, pedestrians and, in particular, bus users. I take the Deputy’s point in that regard and commend him on the work he has done.

The ambition is that there will be a 70% increase in bus services in Limerick. It is about accessibility. I genuinely believe that those who offer bus services across the country do not discriminate on the basis of eircodes or people's location. It is about ensuring that the have shorter waits and more direct routes and about making the network simpler, with a schedule that meets demand. It is also about the out-of-hours time, as the Deputy said, and about having additional services available, whether that is at weekends or in the evening. As Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport, I have seen the success of rural transport. People will use it if it is provided.

Limerick has been leading the way in some areas, including in the context of electric buses. It has 61 zero-emission buses. The NDP to be issued later this year will outline in more detail the aspects of BusConnects Limerick that will be advanced in the period to 2030.

I will take the points the Deputy has made back to the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and the NTA. It was the issue of the 303 route that he highlighted most, and I will bring that back.

Limerick has been leading the way in some of the areas including electrified buses. It has 61 zero-emission buses. The detailed NDP later this year will outline in more detail the aspects of BusConnects Limerick that will be advanced in the funding to 2030. I will take the points the Deputy has made today back to the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and to the NTA. It was the issue of the 303 that he highlighted most and I will bring that back.

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle referred to bus services in Kilkenny at Question Time last week. People want to use public transport. We have provided it. The Ministers in the Department work with the NTA. It is about an implementation plan or a roadmap to ensure the new network, in Limerick, in Deputy Quinlivan’s case, is not only being worked on but that new services that can be rolled out incrementally on new routes will be delivered. It is also about staffing and resources being available, particularly drivers. Deputy Ó Laoghaire, who is seated behind Deputy Quinlivan, will know that in Cork we have an issue with staffing in the context of mechanics and drivers.

I will certainly bring Deputy Quinlivan’s remarks back to the Minister. I again thank him for raising the matter.

Medicinal Products

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, for coming in to take this matter, which relates to the drug Pluvicto. This drug is for men suffering with prostate cancer. It was granted European Medical Agency, EMA, approval back in 2022. The HSE received an application for reimbursement on 9 January 2023. A rapid review was commenced shortly thereafter, on 10 February 2023. It was decided in March 2023 that a full higher technical assessment, HTA, was required in order to assess the efficacy of the drug. That assessment took the best part of 15 months to complete. A final HTA was completed in August 2024, when it was recommended that Pluvicto not to be reimbursed. That recommendation went forward to the drugs group, which followed through with its decision on the basis that it believed the therapy does not represent optimal use of limited HSE resources. That negative recommendation went forward to the HSE senior management team, which, as one would expect following a negative recommendation from the two subcommittees under it, followed through with its own refusal.

In the period that followed, 40 specialist consultants in oncology and radiology wrote a letter to the then chief executive of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, pleading with him to make the drug available to men suffering with prostate cancer. It has the potential to prolong their lives and has been described as a significant breakthrough. The consultants in question also highlighted that similar drugs are available to other men with similar prostate cancer conditions, which just deepened the inequitable situation whereby some people were able to avail of drugs while others were prevented from doing so.

The Minister of State is probably fed up with me coming in here looking for various drugs to be reimbursed. In that context, this drug is available in ten other European countries. I just checked my phone and discovered that it is available in France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Germany and Great Britain. It is not just big countries, because Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Slovenia have made it available.

I am here again beating the same drug. I commend the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, regarding the review she instigated. To be fair, she put her money where her mouth is. I look forward to that review being completed. I believe it has gone out to tender and will happen by the end of this year. Nevertheless, here we are again. I do not want to hear that what is happening in this instance is the fault of the drug company involved, the HSE or the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE. That drug was approved by the EMA in 2022 and an application in respect of it was made in January 2023. Fast forward three and a half years, and people still do not have access to a cancer drug that could save their lives and that is widely available in other European countries. Here we are again, talking about Ireland being behind the curve.

There will be a litany of reasons given as to why it has taken this long to get to this point. Ultimately, the drugs group and the HSE senior management team have decided not to reimburse the drug. Over the past few years, this Government and that which preceded it have approved more of these rare disease drugs than was the case over the previous decade. In the past three years, more of them have been approved than ever before. That is down to money. I am not asking for extra money. I am not trying to bankrupt the HSE, blow its budget or to do any of the other things I am being accused of. What I am asking for is a fairer apportionment of the existing drugs budget in this country. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister of State will know that we are working with Friedreich’s ataxia patients who are undergoing a similar process regarding reimbursement of the drug Skyclarys, which, I understand, will be deal with by the drugs group shortly. Still, here we are again. How many more patients' groups or cohorts of people will have to plead for much-needed access to quality drugs?

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor)

Since I have known him, the Deputy has consistently come to the Dáil and raised issues relating to rare diseases. He has worked so hard not just in respect of this particular drug but also in respect of several others. I thank him for his commitment and his hard work on this. I know he is constantly meeting the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.

The State acknowledges the importance of access to medicines. This Government is committed to providing timely access to new and innovative medicines and has made considerable investments in recent years, with annual expenditure on medicines now almost €4 billion. This means that nearly €1 in every €8 of public funding is being spent on health. This level of investment is unprecedented in supporting patients through the availability of new and innovative medicines.

The budgets for the period between 2021 to 2025 included dedicated funding of €158 million for new medicines.

Budget 2026 allocated an additional €30 million of funding for new drugs out of €217 million in additional funding for drugs. This has enabled the HSE to approve reimbursement for 276 new medicines or new uses for existing medicines, including 110 for treating cancer and 75 for treating rare diseases. The HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical items, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. In line with the Act a company must submit an application to the HSE to have a new medicine added to the formal reimbursement list. I know the Deputy is aware of this. Pluvicto is a medicine used to treat prostate cancer. It is indicated for certain adult patients with prostate cancer who have previously been treated with AR pathway inhibition and taxane-based chemotherapy.

The medicine was granted marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency in September 2022, following a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. The centralised procedure results in a single EU-wide marketing authorisation valid across all EU member states. On 9 January 2023, the HSE received an application from Advanced Accelerator Applications, a Novartis company, for pricing and reimbursement of the drug. The drugs group is the national committee the HSE has in place to make recommendations on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines. The membership of the HSE drugs group includes clinical experts and public interest members. The HSE drugs group considers all of the evidence and makes a recommendation to the HSE senior leadership team. The clinical and economic evidence for this treatment was comprehensively and extensively reviewed by the drugs group at the April 2025 meeting. Evidence considered included a HTA report from the NCPE, a patient interest group submission, two additional clinical representations, and advice from the national cancer control programme technology review committee, an expert group whose membership includes clinicians specialising in oncology. The decision-making authority in the HSE is the HSE senior management team, which decides whether it can fund a new medicine. The senior management team supported the drugs group recommendation not to reimburse this treatment. The HSE corporate pharmaceutical unit issued a formal written notice of proposal to the applicant on Tuesday, 5 May 2026. The applicant has since met with the CPU, and it has submitted a commercial offer that remains under consideration. The HSE cannot comment on potential outcomes of this application. That information is important.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I have asked many parliamentary questions on this over the past few years. Very little has changed. The only thing that gives me hope is that the company has since met the CPU and submitted a commercial offer that remains under consideration. I am not asking for special treatment for any drug. These are all subject to commercial sensitivity. I am asking for fairness. This process started in January 2023, so we are here three and a half years later. They should be given a final response one way or another. That is all I ask for, good, bad or indifferent at this stage. People need to be put out of their misery. We can go on about the savings achieved in that timeline because this drug was not made available. That is probably because people have died because of the lack of access to it, truth be told. Those are the facts.

I am not asking for special treatment. I have spoken consistently in the House about systems change. I hope to God the review the Minister commissioned brings the systems change I would like to see. Dozens of other countries do this in a better way than we do. We can continue to put up the front that we are one of the best at negotiating and we get the best price and the best value for drugs, but ultimately as a society we have to ask ourselves at what cost. Unfortunately, in this case it is at the cost of lives. I made a comment about the Skyclarys campaign. I know the Minister of State has to be careful what she says because it is due before the drugs group. I again make the case that these people just want a hearing as expeditiously as possible. Like I said, nine other European countries have approved that drug apart from the United States and a few other countries internationally. When are we going to step up to the plate with drugs like Skyclarys for Friedreich's ataxia patients? I know the Minister of State has constituents of her own and it is close to her heart.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Two new frameworks are agreed with Medicines for Ireland. This is the Irish pharmaceutical healthcare association on the supply and pricing of medicines. These have been successfully reached following extensive negotiation with the pharmaceutical sector. These two new framework agreements will change things. A tender for conducting this review was published on Monday, 15 June. Once commenced, the project timeline is between six and nine months. Together these measures will enable faster access to medicines for patients in Ireland. I thank the Deputy for this.

I will talk about my own constituency. I have met with a lot of families in Carlow affected by Friedreich's ataxia, particularly Emily and Oisín. As the Deputy said, it is important. The next HSE drugs group is meeting on Tuesday, 14 July and that will be discussed. Skyclarys is on the agenda for that meeting. It is important because I have met with so many families in Carlow-Kilkenny and with constituents who need this drug. These families are waiting to get it urgently. Like everything, there is due diligence and funding is always spoken about. It is important that we know we have the date for it. The meeting is on Tuesday, 14 July with the drugs group and Skyclarys is on the agenda for that group meeting.

I will bring all of the Deputy's important issues and concerns on timing to the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Unfortunately, she could not take this Topical Issue.

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Last night we had a debate on childcare. During the course of that I made the point that July and August can be stressful times for parents as they try to figure out a patchwork quilt of different types of care as school finishes and there are camps and things like that. The stress of that is multiplied by two, three and ten for parents of children with special educational needs. The Topical Issue I submitted is about the summer provision programme.

While the summer provision scheme obviously cannot be precisely the same as school, it is meant to offer a certain amount of continuity for children, staff and families in terms of the support, care and education those children get during the course of the summer. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this is an annual debate, there still seem to be huge anomalies, discrepancies, things that are difficult to understand and shortfalls in time, hours and provision.

I was prompted to raise this in the context of an issue in a particular school. I was contacted by a parent and a teacher about a school where two children who had visual impairment were not going to be allowed access the programme because of a lack of SNA support. Trying to get that addressed was something the school had been chasing over the course of two or three weeks, and it received no response from the Department. In the interim, I have learned since submitting this matter that some additional resources have been allocated, but the fundamental point in terms of structure is that this school found it difficult to get answers. Time will tell whether the provision is adequate for those particular children. It still speaks to a fundamental point with regard to the programme as a whole.

I will give a number of examples. There seems to be a big issue with special schools in particular. Some parents have told me there was a delayed release of funding, which has led to some schools struggling to ensure staff are provided. There is a particular frustration with the reduced length of the day for special schools for 2026, continuing for the past number of years. The Department's position is that this is from stakeholder feedback. A lot of parents say that this really has not changed since Covid. The kind of feedback that might be talked about could go back that far. There is obviously a discrepancy with the special schools.

For them, it is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., whereas mainstream schools with special classes or units attached to schools do full-time hours in many instances. Not every school does, but they are in a position to offer the full four weeks with full hours. The guidance for special schools seems to be that there is no scope for the provision of that.

There is also an issue with the window, which was shorter this year than last year - only ten days, when previously it was two weeks. It was opened quite late this year, towards the end of June, whereas last year it was open in May. A lot of parents who are looking to avail of summer provision do not have the opportunity. They are being offered a home-based programme, but that is only for ten hours per week for four weeks compared to either 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the special schools or for the full hours in some of the mainstream schools with special classes attached. There are different anomalies affecting different categories of parents, leading to an awful lot of parents not getting the support they ought to get. It was very late when they found out what would be available.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (Deputy Michael Moynihan)

I thank the Deputy very much for raising the summer programme. I will set out the details of the scheme in the first instance and then I will respond to the specific points raised.

The summer programme is hugely valued across the Government and by families and school communities. It is a vital and targeted intervention for the education of children with special educational needs and those affected by educational disadvantage. It is delivered during the summer months to ensure that children with additional needs or who are disadvantaged have continuity. There is an emphasis on different things in each of the schools.

Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated the summer programme and the findings consistently highlight the positive impact on many children and young people who have taken part. Parents, staff and children themselves report improvement in confidence, attitude and readiness to return to school in September. The continued emphasis on the summer programme is to mitigate against the impact of learning loss on those children while schools are closed. An increase in the educational needs prevalence rate, particularly in autism, and the presentation of children with more complex needs has meant that the summer programme is now more important than ever.

The details of the summer programme were communicated to stakeholders, including the schools, in May of this year. While acknowledging that the details of the programme are technically announced earlier, the Department has continually kept in touch with the educational stakeholders querying when the programme might be announced. This ensured that the schools understood that it would be forthcoming and that they could start their preparation. As a result, and as the Deputy said, the online portal was open for ten days. Following feedback from schools in particular in relation to that, the portal was opened again to allow more schools to apply and get on board with the summer programme.

We have more school-based schemes this year than in 2025. That is hugely welcome and means that more primary, post-primary and special schools are engaging in the summer programme. The applications for home-based programmes also significantly increased on last year. A number of schools, including one cited by the Deputy, went back to the Department looking for extra staffing and resources. I understand that a lot of those requests have been met at this stage in terms of giving the resources.

In response to the points the Deputy makes, I understand the value of the summer programme. It is a hugely valued piece. It is vital that this valued resource be targeted at children with additional needs and those who are in disadvantage. While we have expanded the numbers quite considerably in recent years, we must ensure that we are targeting those who are most in need. I agree that we need to have the programme opened earlier and for a longer period. We had engagement between the Department and the stakeholders right through the year to say that the programme would be forthcoming but we need to make sure that there is a timeline for the schools because school communities are working extremely hard, in particular when it comes to the year end. Many school communities refer to it as "mad May". I take that point, which was made very clearly.

If it is okay with the Deputy, I might come back to a number of the points he raised about special schools and so forth in the closing remarks.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Will the Minister of State take away a couple of points? While the issue I raised was resolved ultimately, that does appear to have been after the last minute, as it was after the provision had already begun on Monday. It was only today that I learned that additional resources were provided yesterday. It should not have come to that. It should not have been the case that two sets of parents were faced with a situation where children with visual impairments were potentially not going to be able to avail of the summer provision because of a lack of SNA supports.

Parents of children with special educational needs constantly feel a number of things: first, that they have to fight for absolutely everything; and, second, that there is a constant cycle whereby every spring there is a debate on special classes and every summer there is a debate on summer provision. That is despite the fact that the planning for these should be improving all the time, yet for parents it seems as if the same debate repeats itself and there is not any advance.

I want the Minister of State to take away in particular the point about special schools being able to offer full-time hours. Not every special class attached to a mainstream school offers full-time hours but the school has the option. However, it is not part of the guidance available to special schools, which operate between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Those children and their parents need the support the most, as the children struggle the most with the change in the pattern of their day.

I want to briefly raise the matter of children with special educational needs. Gaelscoil Uí Riada serves the Bishopstown and Wilton areas in the south-west of Cork city. Its application for two additional classrooms for special classes under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme was rejected. Will the Minister of State push for that within the Department? The Department keeps talking about modular units rather than an extension but there is not the space for them. It is a tight, city-based site. It is crucial to ensure that the school can offer additional special education classes.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I will take the points back in relation to the Gaelscoil.

Some 1,800 schools and 71,000 children are participating in the scheme this year. Going back five years, there were 545 schools with 23,000 children. We have seen a 210% increase in participation. That gives a sense of the Government's commitment to the scheme. There are issues in regard to the special classes, schools in disadvantaged areas and special schools. The teams that work in special schools are superhuman beings because they work with the most vulnerable children, who sometimes have a very high dependency. They work extremely hard.

I have had lengthy engagements with the special school community in recent weeks. We met the principals of all the schools who spoke about the challenges they had within their schools and communities. We will reflect on those points. As well as that, we want to make sure that the summer programme is a hugely important and embedded piece in special education and disadvantaged education now and into the future. We must be open to an evaluation of it and to how we are going to roll it out over the coming years to make sure that we are targeting the resources to the people who need them most. There are a number of points ongoing in that regard.

While we engaged with the school communities and the stakeholders on the scheme, which we said would be open – there was no question but that it would be running this year – we need to make sure that we start earlier. Schools and school communities are working extremely hard right up to the year end. We need to reflect very carefully on that.

I will give due reflection to the piece about the hours. A number of parents contacted me about that as well.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Séamus McGrath

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue debate. I want to raise the matter of the proposed amalgamation of two schools in the lower harbour area of Cork. These are Ringaskiddy national school and Shanbally National School. This is a project that has been in the pipeline for many years but, unfortunately, remains effectively stalled and has been so for the past number of years. There is very little progress to show.

I thank the Minister of State for visiting the school in Shanbally in recent months and seeing at first hand the condition of the school building. It is a school with nine classrooms, six of them prefabs. Many of these prefabs are old and in very poor condition with sagging ceilings, collapsing floors, dampness, electrical issues, and health and safety issues. Similar significant issues arise in Ringaskiddy. Neither school got much investment in recent years because this amalgamation was proposed and supposedly happening. The teachers, principals, students, parents and communities have to put up with two schools that are simply not fit for purpose in terms of the educational needs of today. In terms of size, Shanbally National School has just under 200 students and Ringaskiddy national school is smaller, with about 60 students.

Despite all I have outlined about the conditions of the buildings, they are fantastic schools that provide an outstanding educational service. They provide a very strong emphasis on special education, also. They are wonderful schools for any child to go to despite the issues with the physical buildings. The teaching staff are outstanding and the school communities, atmospheres and learning environments are second to none.

As I have outlined, the project seems to be stalled. It is to be delivered under phase 2 of the Department's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, 4 programme. A project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023, which is more than three years ago. This person had the task of preparing documentation for the tender process and the appointment of an integrated project team. I am anxious to get an update on the tender process. As the Minister of State can appreciate, there is deep frustration that it has taken so long after the appointment of the project manager to progress with the tender phase of the project.

When I raised this matter as a Topical Issue just over six months ago in December 2025, the reply at the time was very much focused on the fact that there was an issue with the site. I reiterate that there is absolutely no issue with the site. To give the history briefly, a site was acquired a number of years ago but it was then acquired for the M28 project and the construction of the motorway. A different site has now been identified and IDA Ireland is in the process of transferring it to the council, which will then transfer it to the diocesan office. This is at an advanced stage and the council is finalising the acquisition of the site.

I have it in writing from the council that it will fully co-operate with any planning application and any design work. The site itself will not be an issue and there will not be a delay. I really do not want the Department to use the site as a delaying tactic because there is no reason whatsoever that the project cannot proceed through the design and planning phase. The school site will be fully acquired and in the possession of the diocesan office so that it can progress with this project.

I would like an update on the overall project. The Minister of State visited the school in Shanbally and saw at first hand its condition. He will accept that the schools are not acceptable, given the standard of education we expect for our children and the standard of the environment and school buildings they attend.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank Deputy McGrath for his question. I visited the school in Shanbally and saw the condition of it. I saw the excellent work being done by the school community - the teachers, the SNAs and everybody involved - and the commitment those people have to education. Both schools are co-education primary schools catering for boys and girls from junior to sixth class. Both schools have agreed to amalgamate, with a new school building to be constructed. The new school is expected to be located on a six-acre site that is privately owned. If I understand it correctly, this will be transferred to the council and then to the diocesan trust. This is a very important element and I will certainly relay the comments of Deputy McGrath back to the planning and building unit. A lot of the time, technical transfers are slow and cumbersome. When the transfer is made to the diocesan trust, we can make the decisions; we will have the site and we can move on to the next level.

Both schools are in separate buildings and Deputy McGrath understands all of this quite well. What we need to do today is make sure that we have the pieces together to move it on. I saw the condition of the school in Shanbally. Something needs to be done in the Department. We have project managers and others in place for this project. From what I have heard from Deputy McGrath today, the transfer of the site is progressing through various stages. If there is further documentation or information that Deputy McGrath can bring to the table, I would appreciate it in terms of the timeline, as we could then put it on the table and say that the site was moving forward. We could then move to the next stage.

With the best will in the world, there are a number of stages to go through, including planning and design. I know that Deputy McGrath will work with the local authority to ensure it passes through this stage. The local authority is very open to it and it understands it. The site has been earmarked. Without going through all of the detail, the brief is for 16 classrooms, as Deputy McGrath is well aware. This is about the amalgamation of both schools. Deputy McGrath indicated that there were about 200 pupils in one school and 60 in the other. This is very important for education, not alone now, but in future. If I could get sight of the transfer documents, I could then take them to the planning and building unit and we could ensure that a speedy response is given as fast as possible. We often talk about delays and legal issues but we have to try to cut through this. I have seen for myself the situation and I will certainly do what we can in the Department to move the project on.

Deputy Séamus McGrath

I thank the Minister of State. I want to put on the record my appreciation for the Minister of State taking the time to visit the school. He visited Shanbally National School and heard about Ringaskiddy national school and the conditions there, and about how critical this project was.

I want to be absolutely clear about the land and I can furnish documentation to the Minister of State. A response from a senior person in Cork County Council states that, while finalisation of the acquisition is taking place and in advance of the formal transfer of land subject to section 183, Cork County Council will support any planning application submitted in respect of the new school and will also provide a letter of consent to accompany the planning submission at the appropriate time. There is no reason whatsoever that the land issue should cause any delay.

I notice from the reply this evening, which is deeply disappointing, that we do not appear to have progressed in the tender process since December last year. It is the exact same update, stating that the project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023 and was in the process of preparing documentation for the tender process for the appointment of an integrated project team. That is the exact same language as in the reply I received in December 2025. This is deeply frustrating and it is very difficult for me as a public representative to go back to the communities, principals, parents and teaching staff and say that this project has not moved forward. I do not want to be disingenuous, and I hope work is progressing on the tender process, but the reply seems to be the exact same, which is very frustrating.

To reiterate, the project is vital for these two school communities. The conditions they operate in at present are not acceptable. It has been promised for many years. This project has been in the pipeline for in excess of 15 years. There was an issue with the original site not being available because of the motorway project, which was facilitated. I plead with the Minister of State to go back to the Department and ensure that we progress the project once and for all and that the school communities - students, parents, families, teaching staff, principals and everyone else - have buildings that are suitable for the educational requirements of these children.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I accept that.

The Department is very committed to this. It has carried out a survey and the reports are very clear that this project must go ahead. There were delays over 15 years. The frustration in relation to a project like this is sometimes about it taking so much time. The point is, though, that we need to have sight of the exact legal situation because to progress the project to the tender documents and planning stages, we would have to be 100% certain. I would appreciate if I could get the document the Deputy read from, because I would like to try to get that in and to try to start moving.

This is a fundamental aspect. I am referring to the site, the land and the history with other sites and so forth. We have to have that information as the underpinning that will allow us to move forward. If we go to planning, tender and other stages, we must make sure that we have ownership of the site. This is the fundamental aspect to moving the project to the next stage. There is a lot of work ready to go. The specification in terms of what is being designed there - the 16 classrooms and all of that - exists, but we need to have certainty about the site.

I will take that document from the Deputy and any other supporting documentation he has. I will raise this issue and push it as hard as I can with the planning and building unit in the Department.

School Accommodation

Deputy Thomas Gould

The Minister of State will have received the letter this week requesting a meeting between him and the TDs from Cork North-Central in relation to Scoil Padre Pio. We had a very important meeting on Monday with the principal, Ms Sinéad Elliffe, where she outlined that the school had been waiting and was now caught in limbo. The school’s extension was approved in 2019. The school has now gone through the whole design process and has gone back and forth with the Department, and as far as the school is concerned, it is done. It has, though, not been able to get anyone to sign off on that design.

Scoil Padre Pio, then, is one of the schools stuck in the dreaded stage 2A. It is like a wasteland for schools. They go away and do the work, and then they are caught there. This is not the situation of Scoil Padre Pio alone. We also have Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers, which got approval for a new school in 2022, but it has been unable to get a response from the Department for the last 12 months. We have Scoil Chroí Íosa stuck at the same stage. Then there is St. Killian's Special School, Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin and Le Chéile Secondary School. A 15-acre site was purchased in Ballincollig in 2024, and there has still been no progress. Ballincollig is an area that is expanding hugely. There is a desperate need for school places, but once again this is stuck in limbo. There are ten schools in my constituency on the list for large-scale building projects and another 21 on the list for additional accommodation. Not one large-scale building project has been delivered in Cork North-Central since 2020. There have been 11 smaller scale accommodation projects.

We have seen other schools that cannot even get onto the list. These include Scoil Barra, Clogheen Kerry Pike National School, Scoil Eoin and the Convent Primary School in Mallow. Despite the huge efforts made by their principals, these are schools that cannot even get on the radar of the Department, whatever that is about. I have visited some of these schools and seen the holes in the floors and the roofs and the dangerous steps that cannot be used by children. I am speaking about brilliant principals, teachers, SNAs and kids. These are kids who are being failed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government because they are being educated in rooms and prefabs that are not fit for education. On one hand, the Government is recognising the needs of these children. On the other hand, it is letting them remain in accommodation that is unsuitable for children.

I will give the Minister of State an example. Scoil Padre Pio was one of the first schools in Cork to take on additional autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes. It led the way. It was seen to do unbelievable work. Prefabs went in there 21 years ago. I met a man who told me he was educated in those prefabs and now his son is being educated in the same prefabs. Does the Minister of State know that the Government is after spending €1.5 million on those prefabs? Almost €100,000 is being spent each year. What a waste of money that is. This project could have been delivered for €2.5 million in 2019. Does the Minister of State know what the cost is now? It is €7 million. The longer the Government delays, the more the cost goes up.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank Deputy Gould.

Deputy Thomas Gould

We have a brilliant school that is dealing with some of the most vulnerable kids, both mainstream and special classes. They are being failed by this Government.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank the Deputy very much for the question. He mentioned a number of schools, and I definitely will go back over them. The Deputy's question, though, was on the numbers of schools in County Cork at stage 2A. The Department has a strong track record of delivering the school building programme, with over €6.9 billion invested in the last six years. This has delivered approximately 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller improvement projects. Over €796 million in capital funding has been invested in County Cork schools since 2020. In this period, a total of 168 schools in County Cork have been upgraded either through the provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or the provision of modular accommodation. There are also currently 18 school projects in County Cork under construction. In late 2025, 35 schools were approved to undergo works as part of the climate action summer works scheme. In addition, since 2020, a total of 375 special classes have been sanctioned in Cork, of which 69 were sanctioned for September 2026.

Under the national development plan, NDP, sectoral investment plan for education and youth, €5 billion is allocated to project roll-out to modernise and expand school infrastructure. A first tranche of 105 school building projects has been published to proceed to construction or tender in the 2026-27 period. These projects were already at tender or advanced detailed design stage 2B, thereby prioritising urgent capacity pressures and special education needs. This list includes 12 projects in County Cork, which represents just over 10% of the projects within the first tranche.

Prioritised projects continue to be progressed through earlier stages of the design pipeline, with a focus on special schools; schools fully in interim accommodation with an urgent requirement for permanent accommodation; projects delivering significant special education capacity; additional accommodation required to cater for demographic growth in an area; and projects dealing with the most significant condition issues.

As part of the Department-led prioritisation process that is under way for 2026 and 2027, consultation with school patrons began this month. A further tranche of priority projects is targeted for publication in 2027, informed by departmental analysis, engagement with the patrons and schools, funding parameters and, where relevant, the Department’s energy and condition inventory of the school estate, and this is due for completion by year end. Projects will need to be at an appropriate stage of readiness to be considered. In particular, projects already at stage 2A are well positioned for inclusion in the next tranche.

There are currently 47 projects progressing through stage 2A of the architectural planning process in County Cork, reflecting solid momentum within the county’s school building pipeline. All projects continue to undergo detailed technical and cost assessment in line with Government infrastructure guidelines, with progression managed carefully across the wider capital programme. Departmental officials have recently intensified engagement with schools whose stage 2A reports have been under examination for some time, ensuring that each project is fully considered within overall prioritisation and programme management.

I must say that there is huge engagement within the Department. I take the points the Deputy made in relation to the schools he mentioned and the prefabs. I take that issue in relation to prefabs very seriously because I see this right across the country. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools and I will follow up in regard to them. There is, though, solid investment in the city and county of Cork.

Deputy Thomas Gould

I have the printout of the schools here.

They include St. Killian’s Special School, stage 2A, Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers, stage 2A, Scoil Chroí Íosa, stage 2A, Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin, stage 1, Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, stage 2B, and Scoil Mhuire, stage 2B. Then there are Cork Educate Secondary School and Le Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig, stage 1, and Coláiste Choilm, stage 2B. When are these to move on to the next stage?

The Minister of State came in here and gave me a list. I have a list, too. All these schools are crying out for support and funding to move on to the next stage. I also have another list. I care about the two lists because they contain the schools in my area, Cork North-Central, which I was elected to come in here and speak for. There are four capital projects in Cork North-Central, none of which is large scale. Where are the large-scale projects that the Minister of State outlined for my community and for the children in my area? There are two new schools in Cork South-Central. What we are looking for on the northside are four small-scale projects, four extensions, but where is the commitment from the Department to move them on from stage 2A or stage 2B?

Scoil Padre Pio has waited for seven years. Is that acceptable? Deputy Moynihan is the Minister of State. I am asking him a straight question because I do not believe the wait is acceptable. Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers has been waiting for years. Is that acceptable? These are schools in my area and they are crying out. St. Killian’s Special School, one of the best schools in the country, is crying out. Will the Minister of State give a commitment here today to ensure all these projects progress?

Deputy Michael Moynihan

The only way we can give a commitment is by allocating sufficient funding within the Department. There has been a huge amount of continued investment in the school estate. There are literally billions of euro being spent across the country.

Deputy Thomas Gould

Not in Churchfield.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

To be fair now, the question I was asked to respond to was in relation to investment in County Cork. There has been considerable investment right across the education system, and the Department of education has full sight of it. I acknowledge the frustration of schools that urgently need to progress to the next stage, but there has been serious engagement over recent weeks and months on how we are going to prioritise and make sure our investment in 2027 addresses the most critical points, such as the condition of buildings. We have also prioritised ensuring special education is put at the centre of capital expenditure across the education system. We are building capacity for special education at both primary and post-primary levels, and indeed in special schools.

It is not true to say the Department is not spending money. There is a huge investment commitment in the national development plan. That is cold comfort for the communities the Deputy mentioned, one of which has been waiting for four years and another for seven. We should be targeting our resources to ensure that the condition of buildings does not deteriorate to such an extent that we have to do massive jobs on them. We should be investing earlier. Under the national development plan, we have committed serious money for the coming years, and we will be working with the schools. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools. I certainly will reflect on those and on the special schools. We have 20 of them open.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 1 Jul 2026