(Ireland) No SPED places; hundreds hold 24 hour protest at Irish parliament
- The end of childhood
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
April 2, 2025, Irish Sun: LET THEM IN
‘It’s gone beyond for Jack’ says tearful mum forced to quit job after son, 6, rejected from 18 schools in place hell
Parents came from across the country to have their voices heard outside the Dail
A HEARTBROKEN mum told how she has been forced to leave her job after 26 years to home-school her son after receiving 18 rejection letters from special schools that are too full.
Hundreds of parents of children with additional needs took their fight for school places to the Dail on World Autism Day as they camped outside the gates of Leinster House in protest.
Families held signs with photos of their children and chanted “let them in” as they pleaded with politicians to put resources in place to open more special schools across the country.
Parents came from across the country to have their voices heard outside the Dail, with families from Donegal, Cork and Waterford all attending the protest.
One mum, Susanne O’Brien, who works beside Leinster House, told the Irish Sun that she has been forced to leave her job of 26 years to home-school her child because there are no school places.
Susanne, from Dublin,, has already received 18 rejection letters from schools that are too full as she tries to find a place for her six-year-old son Jack who is autistic.
Fighting back tears, Susanne told the Irish Sun: “The irony is I work 100 yards down the road from here for 26 years in the same employment and I’ve just had to hand in my notice in work to home-school my child.
“It hurts and it hurts knowing that he just thrives on the routine. I don’t feel equipped to home educate. It’s way outside my realm but I have to. He is the most important thing to us and the job comes second.”
Jack was last year given an exemption to stay in pre-school for an extra year because there were no appropriate primary school places available for him.
Susanne fears that her son could regress if he doesn’t get to continue his education in an appropriate school.
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