Bureaucratic bungle denies autistic pupils class access
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AUTISTIC children at an East Galway school are being denied access to a newly-opened ASD class – because the application portal closed more than three months before the class was approved.
An Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) class at Creagh National School was formally sanctioned and announced on January 12 this year.
However, families have been told their children cannot be considered for placement because the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) application portal closed on October 1, 2025 – more than three months before the class existed.
For some autistic children already enrolled in the school, this means being left in mainstream classrooms, despite clinical recommendations for specialist placement.
One parent, Gina O’Neill, says the situation is both illogical and damaging for vulnerable children.
Her five-year-old son, Callum, is currently in Junior Infants in a mainstream class at the school. He received an autism diagnosis in June 2025 and has formal HSE/CDNT clinical recommendations for an ASD class placement.
“Make it make sense,” she explains. “They say I should have applied for this imaginary class that didn’t exist in October. It’s crazy and it’s an absolute shame. It’s not good enough.
“How could he not get into a class that was announced on January 12 due to an administrative portal that closed in October 2025? That didn’t sit well with me. But they told me this is it. Final. End of.
“If there is no ASD class, you still have to apply for one because, if it pops up, you have that letter. The computer says no and that is basically it.”
Gina believes this is a failure of the overall education system. A new class exists, professional recommendations are in place, and children are already enrolled in the school.
Yet access is blocked by an administrative deadline that has already passed. Not only that, but other ASD classes are already full.
“It’s a system failure and the kids are going to suffer,” she says.
“That’s who is hurt by this. The portal is meant to be a planning tool, but it is being used as a barrier.”
Caption: Callum O’Neill...left in mainstream class.
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