Laois special student brings campaign for new school to Varadkar's door

Photos of the totally inadequate Kolbe Special School facilities have been hand-delivered to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s constituency office in Dublin. 

The photographs were delivered by one of the school's 43 pupils, Liam Ryan who was brought to Dublin by his mother Niamh on Monday. 

The pair also brought letters to the Taoiseach from the school board and health experts outlining the need for a new building which two Government Departments have put on hold over money.

“We just wanted to make sure that we could make some kind of direct contact with the Taoiseach,”  said Niamh Ryan, who explained that there had been no direct contact with Minister for Education Norma Foley.  

Niamh said Liam, who turns 15 in June, probably won’t get to benefit from the planned new school but he and his mother are determined to fight for the next generation of children. 

While understanding it wasn’t constituency business of the Taoiseach, Niamh said they needed to make contact and they met with the Taoiseach’s staff. 

“A kind gentleman, he said that they would pass on the letter to the Taoiseach’s office,” she said. 

“We are just trying to cover every angle and let them know we are not going away,” Niamh continued. 

She is still shocked by the government decision to put the Kolbe Special School building on hold. “We are talking about the most vulnerable children,” she said. 

“It is just ridiculous. It just beggars belief that they can put a school like Kolbe on the list. It says a lot about our society,” Niamh said. 

She noted all of the other schools in Portlaoise that had been extended, improved or built while Kolbe remained on a waiting list.  

Niamh suspects that the delay in getting Kolbe completed might be down to the relatively small number of families involved and the difficulties facing those families if they do want to mount a campaign. 

“Maybe they know the families of these children can’t get out very easily,” she said.  

“We have the mindset now that this has to stop now. We need our new school,” Niamh insisted. 

“We are used to fighting for every single thing for our children,” she said. 

“Another generation of children cannot go through that school building,” Niamh added. 

One of the letters delivered to the Taoiseach was from Brother Matthew Hayes, Chairman of the Board of Management. It outlined the inadequate and inappropriate conditions at the school and invites the Taoiseach to come and see the school for himself. 

Another letter which was signed by two doctors, one a consultant and the other a specialist in public health medicine, along with an assistant director in nursing in health protection, outlines the dire need for new facilities for the children at Kolbe. 

“We are writing to you under the Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981 articles 11 and 19 to advocate that the planned major building works at Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise be progressed urgently. 

"The reason for the request is in line with our statutory obligation 'to take such steps as are necessary or desirable for investigating the nature and source of such infection, for preventing the spread of such infection and for removing conditions favourable to such infection'," they said. 

Our health protection clinical team were recently notified of a suspected outbreak of an infectious disease in one of the classes in Kolbe Special School. During a site visit our team met with some highly dedicated staff members who were deeply committed to the welfare of their students and school community. The relationship of mutual trust between the students and staff was apparent, the letter stated. 

“It was clear to us, however, that the staff face significant challenges in terms of maintaining high standards of infection prevention and control. Space is extremely limited in the current site, equipment is old and in some cases in a poor state of repair rendering many surfaces difficult to clean adequately. 

There is insufficient space to allow staff to facilitate the needs of students who require extra help with their personal care and toileting. The infrastructure of the facility does not provide handwashing facilities in classrooms, only in bathrooms. 

Outside of bathrooms, only one sink is available for four classrooms, this is located in a communal hall which is currently inaccessible. The reason for hand hygiene facilities being blocked in this area is the inadequate space for storage, resulting in this hall being used as a storage area for essential equipment and supplies for the students.

The staff are doing their utmost to provide a welcoming atmosphere for the students that supports their education whilst being mindful of the additional needs that they may have. However in order to facilitate the achievement of infection, prevention and control standards, thereby protecting the health and wellbeing of the school community, it is imperative that the provision of more suitable facilities, infrastructure and equipment be  prioritised as a matter of urgency," they wrote.  

A third letter delivered by Liam and his mother details the 23 year timeline the community has been waiting for the delivery of a new Kolbe Special School.

A post on the Kolbe Special School Facebook page praises Liam and his mother for delivering the package.  

“One of our star pupils Liam and his wonderful Mam Niamh took a trip to Dublin where they called to Leo Varadkar T.D. constituency office to hand deliver a pack containing photos of the current state of the school, a Kolbe timeline, a reports alongside some letters addressed to An Taoiseach.

“Niamh always goes above and beyond so a big Thank You for this! A sign of us not backing down and never giving up.

“We still need all the support we can get and everything that might help get our new building on the move is worth a try,” they added.

Kolbe Special School students, staff and parents had been promised a new school building with appropriate facilities. 

The €9 million euro project on the block road was expected to be completed towards the end of 2024. 

However, last month shortly after preparatory works got underway the school was contacted by the Department of Education and informed that due to budgetary pressures the project was being placed on hold. It was one of 58 projects nationwide to be placed on hold and no timeline was provided for when they might be expected to resume. 

The move was devastating for students, staff and parents who have been waiting for 23 years for a new school.

Minister of State Sean Fleming and Laois Offaly TDs Brian Stanley, Charlie Flanagan and Carol Nolan have all raised the matter with Minister for Education Norma Foley but no assurances have been given. 

'Too many empty promises' Kolbe parent's passionate plea

A Prioritise Kolbe Committee composed of school management, staff and parents is planning to hold a protest march unless they are given assurances this week.