Matt Carthy
Ceist:171. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the timeframe to deliver a permanent special school in County Monaghan. [9095/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 12 February 2026
Ceisteanna (171)
Freagraí scríofa
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with special educational needs.
The Department and the NCSE work closely together to monitor the need for additional special class and special school capacity nationally including in County Monaghan and engage with school patrons and school authorities in this regard.
Monaghan Community Special School is the first special school established in County Monaghan and is dedicated to educating students with complex special educational needs.
In line with the Department’s approach of maximising existing capacity across the school estate, this new school is located in Castleblaney, in a former ETB school property that was repurposed to facilitate the opening of the new school as quickly as possible.
The repurposing project was delivered under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme which facilitated the timely progression of the project. The programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. This is a collaborative process between the Project Manager, School Authority and the Department. The Project Manager is currently overseeing delivery of the residual elements to ensure the successful completion of the project.
I visited the school recently and was very impressed with the facilities, quality of teaching and commitment of all staff to the students under their care.
The school is now at capacity and additional accommodation is required to facilitate further enrolments. The property at Castleblaney provides a good location for expanding capacity with a permanent modular extension and my Department is engaging with the patron, Cavan and Monaghan ETB in this regard.
The level of accommodation to be provided will be determined in collaboration with the ETB and will be subject to detailed design by the design team prior to submitting the application for planning permission. Subject to the outcome of the planning permission process, the target is to have construction of this modular accommodation commencing later in 2026 with a view to having it completed and operational for the 2027/28 school year.