The mother of a child with no school place this year has accused the Government of “absolutely failing” special needs children. 

Today, parents marched on Dáil Éireann demanding the Department of Education intervenes and finds places for their children.

Speaking to Newstalk reporter Andrew Lowth for The Hard Shoulder, one mother from Finglas said she has applied to 15 different schools for her son so far. 

“Every school has said no to us,” she said. 

“I’ve had to give up work because Seán has no school place, so it’s really disappointing. 

“Our story has been told twice in the Dáil; Seán should be starting school next week - first year of secondary school and we have no place. 

“His sister has gone back to school today, his brother is going into fifth year - I don’t know what to say to him. 

“Our Government is absolutely failing us.” 

'She wants to go to school'

Another woman said she had applied to 32 schools up and down the country and been turned down by each and every single one. 

“She doesn’t have an intellectual disability which means that a lot of the specialised schools don’t cater [towards her],” she said. 

“Every morning throughout the summer, she’s been coming down the stairs, getting her school bag indicating that she wants to go to school. 

“I can’t explain to her - she’s nonverbal.

“I try my best to explain to her that it’s not time to go to school and a lot of the time she lashes out and she’ll hit me or she’ll hit herself. 

“It takes a lot to bring her back from that.” 

“It is shameful … where is Simon Harris? Why isn’t he here?”

Parents march on the Department of Education demanding school places for their children with additional needs.

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) August 23, 2024

Another woman said her son, Brody, is autistic and cannot attend mainstream education. 

“He has been in a preschool special needs class,” she said. 

“He’s too old for that now, so he was meant to go on to primary school but every school that I’ve applied to just kept saying they had no places available. 

“You can’t take your eyes off Brody for a minute - he doesn’t communicate, he’s nonverbal. 

“So, he needs special care. I wouldn’t be able to put him into a mainstream school.”  

Education Minister Norma Foley has promised that civil servant will “engage” parents on the issue. 

"We do have a forward planning unit within the department - where there are areas of high pressure we have already added hundreds of school places right across the country," she said.

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Main image: Norma Foley. Photograph: RollingNews.ie