Minister steps in to keep boy in school
Daragh Ryan, aged eight, from Lansdowne Park, Limerick, leaves the Salesian Junior Infant School next summer, but the nearby JFK Primary School said it could not take him as it did not have money to build the special toilet and ramp which Daragh needs.
On a visit to JFK primary school, Ms Hanafin said she is going to provide the necessary funding to enable Daragh to continue in mainstream education at his own local school.
The Salesian Junior Infant school provided special facilities for Daragh, but the school only takes pupils up to first class.
On being told of the minister’s decision, Daragh’s father, Sean Ryan said: “This is brilliant news. I’m stuck for words in how to thank the Minister for taking this decision. I’m thrilled, it’s made our day.”
Sean and his wife Mary have built a 600sq-ft extension at the family home where Daragh has his own bedroom, bathroom and a physiotherapy area.
The JFK school had indicated to the family that it was anxious to take Daragh as a pupil, but was required to provide special toilet and ramp facilities for him and did not have the funding.
Daragh, who also suffers from epilepsy paid his first visit to JFK primary school recently when the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern met students and teachers.
During that visit, it is understood that he was told of Daragh’s situation in a private meeting with the school management.
Ms Hanafin said yesterday when she visited JFK primary school: “I am giving the school the full costs to provide the facilities for Daragh. We make a priority of children with special needs. I think it is wonderful that these children are included in the mainstream education, so everything the principal applied for, he got for that child.”
The Education Minister also agreed that the system for allocating places in the city’s 15 secondary schools needs to be refined.
After a number of students were left without places last year, her predecessor, Noel Dempsey, came up with a CAO-type method of allocating places after a discussion with primary and secondary school heads. This system was overseen by the Limerick Education Centre.
Each student had to list five schools in order of preference on an application form. Although 95% of students got school offers first time round, 85 had to wait several weeks before getting an offer of a school place, which parents complained had caused distress.
Ms Hanafin said the new system will need refinement over the next few years.
“The important thing is that every child is offered a place. And that was the problem that existed in the past, not every child was offered a place. The one thing I did not like is that some children had to wait some weeks before getting an offer this year.
“I would have preferred if all offers had gone out together and all children got an offer at the same time.”
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