Nolan expresses school placement offers concerns

Independent Offaly TD Carol Nolan has said she is inundated with representations from concerned parents whose children are unable to access secondary school placement offers in the next academic year.

This comes despite the roll-out in October 2025 of an online admissions system for parents seeking to enrol children in four secondary schools in Offaly.

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

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

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

“I am aware that schools are desperately trying to accommodate parents but 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.

“I initially welcomed the new admissions system, but it is now clear now that a complete reassessment is called for.

“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.

“Our local schools are crying out for additional supports to enable them to offer more places. Those pleas must be responded to urgently.”

“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,” Deputy Nolan said.