A new special needs base has been approved for Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra in Rathmore.
The school, which has around 400 students, is to get a new building for two special needs classes under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme.
It is part of the expansion of special classes, which have increased to around 3,000 nationally over the past three years.
Minister for Education and Kerry TD, Norma Foley, said it is about children and young people growing up and learning together to the greatest possible extent.
“Having an education system that is a broad reflection of Irish society is important to me. We’ve invested very significantly in special education with a package of €2.7 billion for 2024, which is 26 per cent of the department’s budget,” she stated.
There are now almost 3,000 special classes, including around 1,800 which have been added in the past three years and the plan is to open another 600 in the next two years.
Mayor of Killarney, Cllr Niall Kelleher, welcomed the news which, he said, will go a long way to meeting the changing needs of the school community.
“As a past pupil and part of the first intake of first year students in 1988, and now serving as chairperson of the school’s board of management, I am particularly delighted with the announcement,” he said.
“I thank Minister Foley for her work on behalf of the school and the principal, Denis Kerins, for his hard work and commitment in getting this over the line,” Mayor Kelleher said.
Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra is a modern co-educational secondary school established in 1998 with the amalgamation of St Mary’s Presentation Convent Secondary School and Rathmore Vocational School.
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