100 Cork children still without school places ahead of city protest

A sign hangs on the fence during the protest over a lack of school places for autistic children at the Department of Education on Marlborough St,  Dublin, last month. A similar protest is due to take place in Cork on Saturday. File Picture: Justin Farrelly./© RollingNews.ie

Approximately 100 children in Cork have yet to be offered a school place for this September, it has emerged, as parents prepare to protest on Saturday over the ongoing issues in special education.

The children are still waiting for an offer of a place either in a special school or in an autism class attached to a mainstream school.

The parents, as well as others hoping to highlight failures in accessing vital therapies for their children, will protest in Cork City from 2pm.

Timelines for applying for special educational placements differ to the mainstream application process.

Parents applying to mainstream schools can apply to have their child enrolled in a school in October, and get a place shortly after that. Schools start taking applications for autism classes in February.

Anita Daynes and her son Leighton, 7, from Tallaght previously attended the protest by parents, families, and friends of children without suitable special educational needs school placements in Dublin. File Picture: Gareth Chaney

Mother Gemma O’Sullivan, who is looking for a school place for her daughter Jasmine, has been told she might not know if Jasmine has a place until as late as June.

“Our children are being discriminated against when they are the most vulnerable. 

We, as parents, face battle after battle trying to get supports in place for our children. We have to fight for everything they are entitled to

"The whole system is unfit for purpose.”

Home tuition

Nationally, at least 200 children with special educational needs have had to seek home tuition as a last resort because a school place was not “readily available” for them this school year.

Work is underway to open new special classes in mainstream schools, while also opening a new special school for Cork in time for the coming school year. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "For the 2025/26 school year, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has sanctioned 292 new classes equating to 1,752 places. 

"This includes in the Munster area, 104 new classes equating to 624 places with some more classes expected to be confirmed across Munster very shortly by the NCSE. 

"In Cork, these figures breakdown to 39 new special classes — equating to 234 places across schools in Co Cork for the coming school year 2025/2026. 

A new special school is also being established in Cork for the coming school year

Meanwhile, the principal of St Paul’s special school in Montenotte in Cork City has said it is “an absolute disgrace” that it has had to spend an anonymous €200,000 donation to the school on a physiotherapist.

The school was one of 16 accepted on a pilot programme in which some therapists are being reinstated, but was not granted a physiotherapist needed for almost all of its over 95 pupils.

“Now, we are using this money to pay for a physiotherapist to come to the school two days a week for the next five years,” Anne Hartnett said.

“It is an absolute disgrace that that’s what we’ve had to spend it on. We should have that anyway.”