Laois special students 'left in limbo' as school building remains unfinished

Laois parents and teachers have been left in limbo while waiting for the construction of a new school building to recommence.

Saplings Special School in Graiguecullen has been left in a state of partial construction over the last year, with no date set for work to recommence. Construction of the school is funded through foreign investment and private funding.

Funds have run dry, leaving students, teachers and SNAs currently operating from a temporary dwelling, while the new school site remains untouched. 

Graiguecullen based Aontú candidate for the upcoming General Election, Mary Hand, has called the situation "desperate".

"I'm a teacher myself and I would work in resource and with special educational needs. We have a centre in our school with a number of students there with varying requirements," Ms Hand explained.

"I drive past the building where they are temporarily housed, it would've been the original old primary school before they built the beautiful new school. It must be very difficult for them at the moment, in a temporary dwelling with no deadline for it to be finished," she said.

Pictured: Aontú candidate Ms Mary Hand.

The school has about 30 students aged 4-18, with around 6 teachers and 13 SNAs.

"Parents of children with special needs often have to drive quite a distance for a school place," said Ms Hand. 

"There are no places for a large number of students, and there isn't enough specialised schools for them. You'd find in different schools that a lot of pupils are still in mainstream because there are no places for them."

"There is apparently no restart date for work to commence, and I recognise the impact that this has on both the students and the parents. You can only imagine what its like for parents, it's desperate," Ms Hand asserted.

"We were told that they had come into money, and these premises are just left there. Who is going to get them finished? These classrooms would be of huge benefit to the community. I would love to get behind it and get something moving because it's not just needed here, but also for the wider area," Ms Hand finished.