Mark Wall
Kildare South · Labour Party · Ireland
“I understand that the Electoral Commission is undertaking research on this, but we really need to see changes in our voting system to ensure that everyone can take part on voting day.”
“We are seeing lower turnouts in our elections and extending postal votes to a wider range of people would be one measure that could help us all address this issue. I appreciate that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may be waiting on the research to be received from the Electoral Commission on postal voting.”
“The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500.”
“They cannot engage in the democratic process like every other ordinary citizen because they work 24-7, 365 days a year, with no break. This Bill is a small but necessary step to ensure that family carers feel that they can use their voice by voting.”
“There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters.”
The complete record
Every one of 679 lines we hold for Mark Wall, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 14.
“However, the feedback I have received from these has been very negative. The centre for disability law and policy noted that the information sessions did not allow for any meaningful engagement with wards and committees. This again points to a lack of resources for the key bodies involved with the implementation of the Act and those who are supporting people with disabilities who are wards. A review must be carried out under the Act before April. However, the current delays of discharge from wardship raises serious concerns about whether any review will even be possible as the Act has not been fully implemented.”
“The slow process of discharge is something that the Minister and her Department have been aware of since 2024 and they would have been well aware that the 2026 deadline would not be met. I am unsure as to why the Government has been so slow to act on this and with such a blunt instrument of only an extension. I am critical of this because there was has been no pre-legislative scrutiny, as has been mentioned. As a House, we have not had the opportunity to fully engage with a real debate on the issues impacting wards and their families. This is the Government again scrambling and trying to rush through half-baked legislation and reflective of a Government continuing to fail people with disabilities. In the briefing document provided by the Department, it was noted that information sessions were provided to stakeholders.”
“I also recommend running legal advice clinics for people who are impacted by the current wardship process so they can get general information and advice on the process. This should be made available to wards and the families impacted. We must also increase resources to the National Advocacy Service to ensure all wards have access to independent advocacy. If we are to move forward with this Bill, automatic rights to independent advocacy to allow wards to engage in the discharge process must be granted. I ask the Minister to outline how she intends to address the key causes of the current backlog, rather than just granting an extension. This is again largely a cold and entirely legalistic medical model of viewing disability and negates addressing issues impacting people with disabilities from a human rights-based perspective.”
“The main purpose of the Bill is to allow for extending the deadline of exit from wardship due to the current backlog of cases. However, this Bill does not actually address the root cause of the backlog, like the lack of support and information available to people to understand the discharge process, the lack of legal professionals available to navigate the process and, most notably, the lack of resources made available to the key bodies in addressing these issues in the Decision Support Service, Legal Aid Board and National Advocacy Service. An information campaign must be provided to help people understand what is happening with wardship, like I have highlighted with the initial rollout of the Act. This must be done between three bodies: the DSS, Legal Aid Board and National Advocacy Service.”
“It is still the case that children can be made wards of court. This is not only discriminatory but is a serious breach of the rights of the child and the rights of the disabled person under both UN charters. The Government continues to speak about an inclusive Ireland but its actions does not meet its words. For a disabled person, particularly those with intellectual disabilities, the focus must be on learning independent living skills to ensure they can live an independent life or have some sense of independence with the right support. This Bill does not provide for this. It closes off the key transition period for children with disabilities into adulthood and further institutionalises them when we, as a State, should be doing everything we can to support their right to independent living.”
“I would welcome that, in cases where an extension is granted under exceptional circumstances, this period be used to fully support all wards and their committees to understand the charge process and to prepare them for life after wardship. I also want to highlight a grave concern brought to my attention by the centre for disability law and policy. The current Bill, if enacted, discriminates against minors who are wards of court. A minor ward of court, who is due to be discharged from a wardship by their eighteenth birthday will, if this Bill is enacted, remain without any decision-making rights until long after their nineteenth birthday, due to the 18-month extension that exists for these wardships. While the principal Act closed off new applications for wardship, this is only for adults.”
“One in seven of the 250 people who have been discharged from wardships so far have been deemed to have full capacity and are not in any decision-making arrangement under the current system. This would imply that many of those who were locked in the wardship system are entirely capable of making their own decisions or, as one judge described it, being the captain of their own ship. This underscores the importance of not just exiting the wardship system but ensuring there is engagement with wards throughout the process. This Bill does not provide for any engagement or consultation with the ward. A number of bodies such as the National Disability Authority and the National Advocacy Service have highlighted the lack of supports for wards in trying to navigate the discharge process. This is an opportunity to address this advocacy deficit.”
“I have examined recommendations provided by the centre for disability law and policy in the University of Galway and I agree that a more just approach in these circumstances would be to only activate the extension in circumstances where it has not been possible to inform a ward of his or her rights in an appropriate and accessible manner and for judges to ensure the extension of the deadline is used only to support the ward and his or her committee to engage meaningfully and participate fully in the discharge process. I am also concerned about the lack of consultation with current wardships. I have only found sections in the Bill that refer to notifying the ward.”
“However, the Government did not realise the true complexities involved in discharging people from wardships, along with the confusion it brought for so many households. The amendment only provides further confusion. The amendment of section 54 of the Act allows for judges to extend a deadline to discharge from wardship under exceptional circumstances. However, there is absolutely no clarification on what constitutes an exceptional circumstance.”
“However, I must highlight that there continues to exist a digital-first approach for a cohort of people who may prefer to use paper-based forms. I hope we can see a campaign that is similar to the promotion of the decision-making process for EPAs. For many people, when they get to the stage of needing an EPA, their capacity can diminish rapidly. A campaign on the importance of making an EPA when people have the capacity to do so must be prioritised by the Minister and the DSS. In respect of the changes being debated, it is reflective of the entire assisted decision-making system that the Government must look at extending the deadline for all wardship cases to be discharged. Wardship is an outdated system with warding based in an Ireland that is thankfully long forgotten.”
“There is a real lack of clarity and consistency from service providers, in particular from financial services, on how the Act is integrated into their policies and practices. There is an opportunity here for the Decision Support Service to address this with clear guidelines. Difficulty in navigating and using the service's online portal was another issue raised, along with delays in processing support arrangements with the DSS and difficulty obtaining a legal statement of capacity, which must be provided by a legal practitioner. I welcome the fact that a specific, enduring power of attorney, EPA, website has been created. This will no doubt take a lot of pressure off people in navigating the process of creating an EPA.”
“In the cases for people with dementia, 40% of people were seeking advice on how to make an application for a decision-making representative order for the purposes of applying for the fair deal scheme. A further 39% of people were seeking information on how to support a family member who may require the assistance of a co-decision-making representative or may require an application to appoint a decision-making representative to make certain decisions about their financial affairs. The project found that there are a number of issues being faced by people navigating the 2015 Act. Difficulties have arisen in finding legal practitioners willing to take on cases related to the Act.”
“In relation to wardship, one of the reasons cited by the committees for not initiating the process to transition out of wardship is that they feel there is not adequate information and that they have not been communicated with well. However, there is also evidence that some committees and wards choose not to engage with the information being made available by various public bodies. There does seem to be a large amount of information out there. A project was completed by Family Carers Ireland on the implementation of the Act. In the organisation's care aid project, free monthly legal advice clinics for family carers were provided in 2024. Of the 37 clinics carried out, 20 were related to people with dementia and 17 concerned people with an intellectual disability.”
“I welcome the chance to talk on this important Bill. I also welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. The Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 brought the outdated wardship laws into line with modern Ireland. It was a stepping stone towards beginning to view disability from a social rather than a medical model. However, I have serious concerns regarding the current implications of the Act and the proposed legislative changes we are discussing. There continues to be a lot of confusion regarding the Act for people impacted as well as for their families and for services. The Act itself has also brought a lot of conflict between the parents of adults with disabilities and service providers and others such as financial institutions.”
“On world hearing day, I again want to raise the case of James Reardon and Ruth McSkane, who face a bill of €10,000 for hearing aids. I have previously raised with the Minister for Health the case of a lady in my area, Maggie Owens, who is involved with Irish Sign Language and creates great bond with the language in the town of Athy. At a time when some 50% of our population with a disability of working age is not in employment, expenses such as cost of hearing aids are prohibitive. In 2024 the Department of Health set up a working group to develop a national hearing care plan. Can the Taoiseach confirm the status of the report? Can the Government consider the costs which prohibit those from with disabilities from entering employment?”
“The Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach, has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimates for Public Services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2026: Vote 1 – President's Establishment; Vote 2 – Department of the Taoiseach; Vote 3 – Office of the Attorney General; Vote 4 – Central Statistics Office; Vote 5 – Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; and Vote 6 – Office of the Chief State Solicitor.”
“The three schools that contacted me were to see cuts. That is the reality of it. They were losing their SNAs. The SNAs were losing their livelihoods and those children who needed them were losing the special bond. That is the reality.”
“In some cases that I heard about recently, they were being offered limited-hours contracts that a part-time employee would have difficulty with. I have been inundated by calls from families who have told me their children with special educational needs flourished because of the special bond they had with their SNAs. Those families cannot understand why a Government would have wanted to break that bond and jeopardise the progress their loved ones were making. In my own area, three schools - Scoil Mhichíl Naofa, Athy, Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge, and St. Joseph's in Halverstown - received letters. The panic in the calls I received has got to be the watershed. The Government must not continue to treat SNAs like it has been treating them as a result of the letters. We all hear that SNA numbers are increasing.”
“About two weekends ago, I took a call from an SNA who informed me they had been told their job was under threat following a letter the school they were employed in had received from the NCSE. The fear, heartbreak and anxiety in that call will stay with me for a long time. Not knowing if you have a job or how you will pay your mortgage and look after your family reflects the reality of what a Department has caused in sending out the letters. It is the reason I raised it with the Taoiseach the following Tuesday, the first opportunity available to me. The panic in the SNA's call has got to be a watershed moment for us all in this House regarding how SNAs are treated. They must not be left in a position where they will continue to dread the call to the principal's office.”
“I ask the Minister of State to go back to the HSE and the Department once again to ask for an extension of the KDOC service, as I have called for in this House before, to the town of Athy. GP services are so important for the social infrastructure of this country, particularly in Kildare South.”
“The Minister of State can imagine putting a child into a car to visit a GP. As a result, in the main people are now going to the outpatients department in Naas and Portlaoise hospitals, which is causing more congestion in those hospitals. I want to raise the out-of-hours service with the Minister of State today. I have been consistent in calling for the KDOC service to not alone have an outlet in Naas, as it does, but also to have an outlet in south Kildare. There is no doubt we have an absolutely fantastic primary care centre in Athy. We are very proud of it. There are lots of services there, but at the moment KDOC does not administer services through the centre in Athy. We have been told it will be an on-demand service. That is simply not good enough.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House today. I thank the Social Democrats for raising this very important motion. The average GP to patient ratio in south Kildare - the area I represent - is 1: 3,163, the fourth highest in the country. Not a week goes by that I do not get somebody in my office asking for a GP. A lot of this has to do with people who have come from Dublin and other parts of the country and who cannot find a local GP. One of the biggest problems is that, in the main, many of those people retain their GP in Dublin and when an event arises and they have to bring a sick child or even present themselves, they travel 60 km to Dublin to visit their GP because the GP quota in Athy, Kildare town, Monasterevin and Newbridge is already full. It is simply not good enough.”
“Before I go to the Labour Party slot, I welcome all of our visitors to the Public Gallery, particularly all of the members of Probus in Mallow in County Cork, guests of Deputy Eoghan Kenny. Deputy Nash is next.”
“We have noted these concerns in the media and The Journal has reported very recently on its concern about children facing criminal damages in private accommodation. It is not on. We need to build State accommodation. I ask the Minister to confirm whether this is the plan of her Department.”
“I thank the Minister. She mentioned that we would all strive for State-led accommodation. The money being spent on special emergency arrangements surely could be spent on State-led accommodation, whereby regulations would be reviewed more than regularly. My concern is over what “reviewed regularly” means. Is it monthly or weekly? My concern is shared by the Ombudsman for Children and many people I deal with. Have Tusla and the Department plans to move away once and for all from emergency accommodation provided by private operators and to use the money to build fit-for-purpose accommodation for those children who need it most? She might confirm what “reviewed regularly” means because we have had concerns.”
“The reason I am asking the Minister about this is that the Ombudsman for Children has raised concerns about the SEAs and their unregulation. Is she happy with the regulation of these SEAs, particularly the accommodation they offer? The accommodation can go from hotel rooms to apartments. As I said, this has been highlighted by the Ombudsman for Children. It is a serious concern for us all on this side of the House, as I am sure it is for the Minister. The question I have for her relates to the regulation of these premises and providers. Is she happy with what is being carried out by Tusla, given what we have heard on the major cases that have happened, unfortunately, in this State over the last number of months? It is a serious concern for many people. I hope she can clarify those concerns.”
“The Government should embrace that training and encourage it and work more closely with Grow Remote. Finally, I assure the thousands of workers who are leaving their rural communities, villages and towns to spend hours in traffic that the Labour Party is listening to them. It would seem today, from the entire Opposition, that it is also listening in to this debate and supporting those thousands of workers. It is a pity that Government has chosen to close its ears, once again, and is saying that there is nothing to see here. It is becoming the norm for Government. Maybe it is time for another pause and for Government to turn up its hearing aid.”
“The Government should lead by example, yet a large percentage of the thousands of calls that we have received are from Government employees who for some reason, after years of remote work, are being called back to the office. Why is this the case? Is it to justify filling office space that a departmental concern was raised two months ago? State bodies are forcing workers back into the office. That is a fact. I have spoken recently with Grow Remote and as have colleagues in the House. I have listened to their experiences and the potential that this sector represents for this country. They have a very detailed training programme that could allay many of the fears that employers, and, indeed, the Members who have spoken on this Bill have raised.”
“In many of these countries, these issues are dealt with through sectoral agreements and bargaining, which are, unfortunately, so absent in this country. The Minister goes on to say that over 8,000 people have taken part in the Government consultation. Does he think that this unprecedented response is a clap on the back for the Government policy? I assure him that this response, given the thousands that have contacted my party, is far from a clap on the back but rather a cry for help from a Government that simply is continuing to ignore workers in this country. The Minister mentioned CSO figures this morning. I ask to stand, maybe for a couple of hours on the M7-N7 and the M4-N4. Then he will get the figures that he needs to influence any debate on this legislation in this House.”
“The legislation that my colleague has brought forward does not give carte blanche to remote work. It will not force anybody into remote work. It will not erode workplace culture, as has been said by some speakers. It acknowledges that remote work is not for everybody and includes rights for employers to refuse remote work - a part of the Bill that has been acknowledged by some employer organisations. The Minister compared our right to request remote work with our colleagues across the EU. What he forgets, and maybe we should ask whether it was a deliberate attempt to forget, is that these countries have proper public transport. In many cases, they are subsidised by the state.”
“Has the Government not been monitoring the WRC cases on their legislation? It is crazy that the Government would consider a right to request that is simply not working as fair. How out of touch can it be with the thousands of workers in this country who can work from home, but given what has happened in the WRC, are simply not in a position to put additional pressure on themselves and their families by taking a case? That is what is happening. I recently tabled a motion on commuter chaos. That, too, was opposed by Government. That motion included simple solutions to try to improve the work-life balance of thousands of commuters and their families, yet Government opposed it. Is Government totally opposed to the work-life balance of those who are commuting and can work from home in a hybrid or flexible way?”
“I thank my colleague Deputy George Lawlor for raising this very important workers' rights issue. I listened in disbelief to the Minister of State earlier and just now I listened to the Minister as well as they outlined the Government's opposition to this Bill. The Minister of State said "allowing employees to request remote work keeps a fair balance". The only fair balance here is for the employer.”
“We have a safety audit that recognises 22 issues. TII, Kildare County Council and every other local authority have gleaned what it means to create a safe cycle lane. I ask again that the Government, TII and Kildare County Council take out this cycle path now. They have learned their lessons. This will allow other areas to have a safe cycle path, and this is what the people of Moone are asking for.”
“Will the Minister for Transport, through the Department, come back to me and the people of Moone and Timolin on the additional cost of dealing with the 22 recommendations? There is also concern that three of the recommendations have not been accepted but addressed in a different way. This is simply not good enough and the Minister of State would accept this. One thing the people of Moone and Timolin will tell us is that their road is being used as a pilot and it has been used in order for others to gain and benefit. They have no problem with the greatest consensus on this but the problem is that the lessons learned by TII, Kildare County Council and other local authority should be taken away to develop cycle lanes, which we will always support in the right area. This is the wrong area. It has led to 90 incidents as of today.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I want to go back to a couple of issues. The Minister of State said, "This engagement signalled a genuine commitment to working with the local community in delivering a safer environment for vulnerable road users." There is no doubt the Department and Kildare County Council in particular have engaged with the local community but what has come out of those engagements and the works carried out in the interim is that we now have an independent safety audit that states there are 22 features that are wrong with this. The question remains at this stage as to who will pay to fix these 22 features. The State has already spent €1.9 million on this cycle lane. How much will these 22 recommendations cost?”
“The cycle route itself is misaligned on either side and does not direct a cyclist along the intended route. The route is badly lit. The current lighting is obstructed by trees in some locations. The list goes on. Kildare officials in County Council, who have been active in replying to me and all the local representatives, say there is a concern that TII is responsible for this. Perhaps in his reply the Minister of State might tease out exactly who has been responsible for it. The safety audit is so bad and raises so many concerns that the community want the cycle path taken out and gone. We have had 90 incidents, and now we have a detailed safety audit that states there are so many problems. This has to go. This project has cost €1.9 million to date. I hope the Minister of State will bring some solutions for the cycle path today.”
“As I said, this road starts and ends nowhere, and it had caused 90 incidents as of 1 p.m. today. Some of the incidents were minor but some were major, involving the write-off of several cars and people being hospitalised. It is, therefore, a huge issue for the Moone Timolin Positive Action Group. That brings us to January of this year when I and my colleagues on Kildare County Council, Councillors Mark Leigh and Aoife Breslin, received the safety audit for this road. This is where the next problem arises because the safety audit of the road, which was built to the required standard, identified multiple problems with the cycle lane, from the width of the kerbs facilitating high speeds to signage on traffic islands being too small. There not enough lighting on the road signage along the route is relatively poor.”
“The local community group, the Moone Timolin Positive Action Group, made a submission on this but heard very little back. In fact, it heard nothing until people saw the cones arriving on the road. In all the debates we have had, and in all the questions I have asked and conversations I have had with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and Kildare County Council, I am told there were plenty of conversations with local people. That is not the case. It is as simple as that. In October 2025, when this road to nowhere appeared on national television, TII came back to say that the project was built to the required standards and had passed the required safety audits. That is all well and good. As we all know, that is what every road and cycle path should be. Cycle paths are welcomed in Moone and south Kildare but not in this location.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Dáíl to discuss this important topic for the residents of Moone and Timolin who have had to put up with what has been described locally and nationally as the road to nowhere. I refer to a cycle lane that was designed and commenced some time in 2024, but actually appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, in June and July 2025. It is 3 km long, and has no connections and no start or finish. Local people had a very good road which they cycled and walked. There were few, if any, accidents on it. Since the cycle lanes were put down, the road has altered. As of one o'clock today, there had been about 90 incidents since the road was laid. That is a huge issue for the people of Moone and Timolin and surrounding area in that part of south Kildare.”
“Deputy Colm Burke - To discuss the recruitment and employment of paediatric dermatology consultants in the south-west region. Deputy Pearse Doherty - To discuss the impact of the signing of the PSO contract for flights between Donegal and Dublin. The matters raised by Deputies Réada Cronin, Michael Cahill, James Geoghegan, Mark Wall and Pearse Doherty have been selected for discussion.”
“Mochta's National School, Louth village. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty - To discuss preservation of the GAA pitch at St. Mary's Boys' National School, Lucan. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss funding for provision of community-based housing for adults with disabilities in Dublin Fingal west. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss the disability action plan targets for additional residential places. Deputies Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn - To discuss the impact of the signing of the PSO contract for flights between Donegal and Dublin. Deputy James Geoghegan - To discuss emergency works at CBS Westland Row in Dublin 2. Deputy Tom Brabazon - To discuss the principle of pay parity in Irish law. Deputy Réada Cronin - Post-primary school waiting lists in North Kildare.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Barry Heneghan - To discuss the north city arterial main water main works due to commence in north Dublin. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the severe cuts in SNAs across multiple schools in Kerry. Deputy Paula Butterly - To discuss implementation of the agreed 2% pension increase for An Post and Eircom pensioners. Deputy John Connolly - To discuss the HSE's refined scope and budget for the planned elective hospitals. Deputy Mark Wall - To discuss the Moone to Timolin cycle path. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the review of the Garda vetting process and planned measures for simplification. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the provision of school accommodation at St.”
“Budget 2026 announced an additional 1,717 SNA places, which is a very welcome intervention by Government. However, the reality in my own area of Kildare South is that late last week, Scoil Mhichil Naofa in Athy received notice that it will lose five SNA posts while Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge will lose three. As the Taoiseach can appreciate, this has a devastating impact on the entire school community. We all know the great work SNAs do day in, day out assisting teachers, assisting students and creating a school environment for parents and students alike. Will the Government intervene in these losses? We need SNAs in our schools. SNAs with posts will not know until next September whether or not they will still have a post and are getting calls to go into principals' offices. It is devastating for them all.”
“Again, is that something the Minister will look at? Obviously, those with a disability and those from marginalised groups need to meet, and need to have a location where they can meet. There are a number of obsolete and derelict buildings that could be used for these purposes. Is that something this fund would encourage?”
“The Minister mentioned a very important point. Tonight, at our meeting, there will probably be six of the locals who have been there for the past 20 to 30 years. They are the volunteers who keep that particular community going. As the Minister just did and the Minister of State previously acknowledged, it is always important to acknowledge those volunteers. In relation to the disability and marginal groups, there is a growing demand in urban areas for centres for marginalised groups. In relation to new centres, an area I have raised with the Minister before is the conversion of derelict buildings into community centres. Is that something the Minister will look at? I have mentioned previously rural schools that have become obsolete in some cases and unfortunately have closed in other cases.”
“That is the issue I wanted to raise with the Minister today. I am glad the Government will concentrate on refurbishment more than anything else. The heating systems in many of these local halls and community centres are so old that they are not fit for purpose. I would welcome it if the Minister could confirm that is the type of infrastructure the Department is looking at.”
“I thank the Minister very much for his reply. We are all aware of the importance of community centres throughout the country and no more so in my own area. Tonight, I will have a meeting of my own local community centre where we will discuss all things relevant, including funding and how we can expand what we can offer to the local community. It is very welcome that there is to be additional funding allocated. How quickly can that happen? The Minister said the announcement will be this year and then there will be funding announced before the end of the year. A lot of the community centres I am dealing with are having issues around heating, lack of heating, heating that is obsolete, etc. It is making a difference, particularly over the past number of weeks, in that they cannot open their doors.”
“Staying with the topic of community centres, will the Minister inform the House when the Government might announce a new programme for community centre investment given the serious issues many community centres are having at the moment in increasing what they have to offer for the public and if he could make a statement?”
“Surely the Department would snap up an offer like this for the children of Kildare South. I have stated in similar debates that I am aware of children in cars and buses passing each other each morning on crowded motorways, with one going from Kildare to Dublin and the others going from Dublin to Kildare. We have to ask why this madness is happening and where the plan is to solve it. All we want in Kildare South for the people and parents who are stressed is to have the classes and one special school located in Kildare South because there are so many parents crying out for that. That is all they ask of Government. We welcome the three we have got but we only have three of the 11 in Kildare South. The demand is increasing day in, day out and we need to hear some more good news from Government.”
“As we know, there was a new closing date and that was welcomed by so many parents because a lot of parents applied thinking that would improve their chances. Instead of getting a place they have now gotten a letter saying they are on a list. They have reached out to their local SENO but the SENO has only been able to produce a list of possible schools for the parents to ring themselves or tell them to look in another county. We are all told there is a pilot scheme for a central portal but this is between two and three years old at this stage and has not been rolled out to any other country. I am dealing with the principals of some primary schools in Kildare South, such as Suncroft National School, which are willing to open another class and have the room to do so.”