General Election candidate in Offaly calls on Government to prioritise Tullamore special school

A CALL has been made on the Dept of Education to prioritise a Co. Offaly school that is experiencing an ongoing shortage of therapists to cater for pupils.

Aontú’s Maureen Ward, who is a candidate in Offaly in this month’s general election says: “The Offaly School of Special Education in Tullamore is a hugely valuable part of the community and caters for over 40 pupils. It has a hugely dedicated staff who are working so hard for the pupils but they are under pressure given the lack of speech and language therapists and physical therapists. They do all they can, but they are under resourced and not as supported as they should be. I visited the school this week and saw at first hand the work and care the staff put in”.

“It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure it provides sufficient staff and it is clearly failing badly in this regard as the experience of personnel shortages is being replicated in schools up and down the country”.

“At a time when the finances of the country are buoyant, it is beyond comprehension how the state is failing its children,” said the Tullamore based candidate.