Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
The Department of Education today confirmed funding for 2 extra classrooms & toilets for St Teresa’s Special School in Creagh, Ballinasloe.
This funding is allocated for urgent additional school accommodation under the Devolved Projects within the Building Section of the Department. St Teresa’s Special School in Creagh, Ballinasloe is dedicated to the education of children with moderate, severe and profound special needs and autism.
It is one of only 115 Special Needs Schools in the country.
Principal Anita O’Reilly stated
‘This is wonderful news for parents of children planning to come to St Teresa’s this September. It is such a relief to have a plan in place to accommodate these children as we are at capacity in our current building. I'd like to thank the Buildings Section at the Department of Education, we now have a number of months to have this set up by September’’
Ballinasloe-based Senator, Aisling Dolan noted
‘It is fantastic to see these classrooms approved for St Teresa’s and to know that students have a place in September. We owe so much to the incredible teaching and healthcare staff at St Teresa’s especially Principal Anita O’Reilly and Vice-Principal Geraldine Clarke for driving this project. This is along with the School Board and support of Ballinasloe Area Community Development board (BACD) in providing the location in the park opposite the school. There was just no space this school has more than doubled in the last 10 years as it takes children from all over the West from 11 children in 2010 to 27 children in 2020 and Special Needs Assistants have also multiplied to support these children with severe and profound special needs.
‘It was urgent to see progress here as we are already in April and I worked with the offices of Minister of State Josepha Madigan for Special Education & Inclusion, Minister of Education Norma Foley in the last few weeks to highlight the concern for capacity of Special Needs students in the Ballinasloe area.
We have 2 other major outstanding school projects - to source a site for a permanent school to accommodate children at St Teresa’s school and locations are being mentioned, we need to see firm commitments here from the Dept of Education. Secondly to move the new school building for Scoil
An Chroí Naofa DEIS Band 1 for close to 300 students to the next stage of planning approval and the tender process.
I’d the opportunity to raise St Teresa’s School in the Seanad and I’d also like to thank the Leader of the House Senator Regina Doherty for supporting this project’.
