Dublin North West children face another September without special school places

Equality in Education Dublin North West are seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for Education to address the continuing failure to provide appropriate school places in Dublin North West

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 16:55, 15 Jul 2026 View Image People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy said the failure to deliver the classes reflects broader systemic issues (Image: People Before Profit)

A North West Dublin group fighting for special school places are demanding urgent action by the end of the month.

Equality in Education Dublin North West are seeking a meeting with the Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton to address the continuing failure to provide appropriate school places in Dublin North West. With local families fearing another September within suitable placements for their children, they are also calling on Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education Michael Moynihan and CEO of the National Council for Special Education John Kearney to attend.

One affected mother is Holly Walsh from Ballymun, whose seven-year-old child Kristian is now facing their third consecutive year without a school place. Holly has contacted schools, pursued legal avenues and spoken publicly through the media, but has still been unable to secure a place for her son . With schools now closed for summer break, she sees no clear pathway for resolution before September.

“Kristian is seven years old and this will be the third year that he has been left without a school place. I have tried everything, I have contacted every school I could, taken legal action and spoken to the media. No parent should have to do all of that just to get their child into school,” Holly said.

“The final refusals have now arrived and the schools are closed for the summer. There is nobody else for me to contact and no prospect of a place for Kristian in September. The Minister and the NCSE need to take responsibility and tell us what they are going to do.

“This is affecting our whole family. Kristian’s younger sister, Leka, is four and keeps asking why Kristian isn’t going to school. It is heart-breaking to have to explain something that should never be happening.

“On top of all of this, we have been told that Kristian may not see a speech and language therapist until 2028. The State says it believes in early intervention , but this is not early intervention. These delays in providing access to education and essential therapies are having life-changing consequences for our kids.”

Equality in Education is also highlighting the case of Sam Lewis, whose family secured a special secondary school place outside Dublin North West two years ago following a major public campaign. Sam still has no prospect of an appropriate place within his own community. His father, Greg Lewis, is an SNA, a co-founder of Equality in Education Dublin North West and a longstanding campaigner for children’s right to appropriate school provision.

“When we were fighting for a place for Sam, we were told that new provision was coming to Dublin North West. Two years later, none of that promised provision has materialised for him or any other child locally,” Greg said.

“We were relieved to secure a place, but a truly appropriate place is a local place. Children should not have to spend large parts of their day travelling in buses or taxis because the State has failed to provide for them where they live.

“That distance affects family life and limits children’s ability to build friendships and relationships in their own communities. Sam deserves the opportunity to attend school locally, and so do the many other children being transported far outside their areas every day.”

People Before Profit Councillor and co-founder of Equality in Education Dublin North West Conor Reddy said “Holly has exhausted every possible avenue” and is still “facing another September with Kristian at home”. “Greg and Sam fought publicly for a place two years ago, yet Sam still has no pathway to a local placement. Neither family should have been put through this,” he said.

“Parents cannot be left to spend another summer ringing closed schools and fighting the State through the courts and the media. Ministers and the NCSE must take responsibility for delivering the education these children are entitled to. We will re-escalate to protest if we have to.”

Equality in Education Dublin North West is calling for additional special classes alongside dedicated special schools at primary and secondary level. They said: “The State should know how many children require special classes and special school places. It should know where these children live, and it should know that existing provision in Dublin North West is nowhere near sufficient.”

Speaking on the broader crisis in Special Education in Dublin North West, Rachel Lowry, co-founder of the group said: “We are calling on the government and NCSE for a long term plan both in Dublin North West and nationally to provide the appropriate provision of education for children with additional needs.

“Over the last few weeks there has been too much emphasis on budgets and budget overspending and not enough on children that do not have a school place or an appropriate place. So many have already fallen through the cracks of a broken system and unfortunately there will be too many children in Dublin North West left at home, come September ”

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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