The need for additional accommodation at Scoil Aonghusa in Cashel has been raised with the Minister for Special Education.
The school applied for 12 modular buildings last December to alleviate their problems – they were subsequently informed that just 5 units were to be in place by next September due to planning issues.
However the Minister for Special Education Josepha Madigan told Senator Garret Ahearn yesterday that approval had now been given for 10 units.
Principal of Scoil Aonghusa Siobhan Keyes Ryan met with officials from the Department at the Cashel school last evening.
“There’s a little bit of confusion here I suppose that all sides need to confirm exactly what is happening but fingers crossed it will be our ten for September and that way we will be able to give places to all of the children that applied, that meet the criteria. Because as it is 14 have been refused and parents have gotten the letters to say that. So I would be hoping that once this is all confirmed that I’ll be back on to those parents with better news for them.”
Siobhan says should the ten modular buildings go ahead it would be a huge step forward for Scoil Aonghusa.
“It would be a dream come true from our point of view. I mean we have been looking for this for a number of years. Obviously our ideal would be to get a permanent build but we all know the difficulty around that at the moment. So the modular buildings are the next best thing. They will meet our need and it will give us huge scope to continue the work that we do here for the children of South Tipperary and beyond.”
