'A significant crisis': Offaly parents face agonising wait for school placement news

Independent TD Carol Nolan has said her constituency offices have received the greatest number of representations to date from anxious parents who say they are completely unable to access any school placement offers for their children entering secondary school in the next academic year.

This news comes despite the rollout of an new online admissions system for parents seeking to enrol children in four secondary schools in Offaly in October, 2025.

The pilot project processed admissions to four post-primary schools in the Tullamore/Killina area for the 2026/27 school year.

Deputy Nolan also said that parents of children with special needs are experiencing similar levels of crisis, despite recent commitments by the Department of Education to open additional special needs and autism support classes.

She highlighted one specific case of the parents of a special needs child who have had eight refusals sent to them following attempts to access a post-primary place.

READ MORE: Student achievers honoured at Offaly secondary school's annual awards night

The Independent TD acknowledged: "I am aware that schools are desperately trying to accommodate parents but the from what I am seeing in my offices, the problem of accessing a place at secondary level is as bad as it has even been, if not worse."

She insisted that changes have to be made in the approach to accommodating places for the intake of students. "I initially welcomed the new admissions system, but it is now clear now that a complete reassessment is called for. Our local schools are crying out for additional supports to enable them to offer more places. Those pleas must be responded to urgently."

Carol Nolan TD continued: "Every single week without fail parents are entering my offices, sometimes at their wits end, because try as they might they just cannot source a school place. This is having a profoundly distressing impact on parents and children alike, many of whom now feel like they will be left behind as their friends go on ahead."

She concluded: "This is a significant crisis that is developing at speed. It demands targeted intervention by the Department and the Minister, which I will be pushing for."