When Riley McMahon’s twin sister Savannah is getting ready for school, their parents make sure he can’t see her schoolbag.
“He clenches his fists, hits himself in the forehead,” says his father, Robbie McMahon. “Because for him, there is no school. He wants school.”
Savannah (13) is neurotypical and started secondary school last September. The school she attends, near their home in Ballymun, Dublin, was the first secondary school her parents applied for.
Riley, however, has a moderate intellectual disability, autism, global developmental delay and is non-verbal. He was rejected by 13 special schools, all of which were oversubscribed.
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“It is soul-destroying,” says Mr McMahon. “To be honest, we expected the rejections. We had set ourselves up for them. If you believe you’re getting something for your child and it’s pulled away, it would make you too sad, too annoyed. It’s a way of coping.”
Riley has “never had a local school”. When he needed a junior infants place, he was rejected by 34 primary schools, including special schools and mainstream schools with autism classes.
He finally got a junior infants place in an autism class 9km away in Cabra. From second class to sixth class, his parents secured a place in another autism class 12km away in Blakestown.
In 2024, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) assessed Riley. Its report, dated July, 2024, says: “Riley’s needs would best be met in a special school for students with autism and complex needs and/or a special school for students with a moderate intellectual disability/moderate general learning disability.”
Mr McMahon shows the 13 rejection letters from special schools across north and west Dublin. Some said Riley was outside their catchment area and they were full. Others were “heavily over-subscribed”. One had had 75 applications for four places.
Riley’s parents complained to Tusla’s education welfare section that their son had no school. Since October, he has been attending tuition at a local community centre for three hours a day. This was provided by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). It is one-to-one, so he doesn’t get to interact with other children.
“He enjoys getting out to go somewhere, but he has no school place and, as it stands, little prospect of getting one next year,“ says Mr McMahon. ”We already have two rejection letters for September, 2026. It is like he has been written off.
“He has a constitutional right to an education but all he gets is a few hours a day and no interaction with peers, which is part of a child’s education.”
The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People was published by Government in September. The strategy, which is guided by international human rights law, says: “We will create a more inclusive education system for disabled children and young people.”
It adds: “We will improve retention rates and progression for disabled children and young people as they deal with transitions within education.”
The issue of school places is one area where Government had enacted legislation to force improvements for disabled people. The NCSE has compelled schools to open special classes and others to enrol children with additional needs they had refused.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said all children known to the NCSE by mid-February 2025, “bar a very small handful of children in Dublin”, had been allocated a school place in the academic year. There had been “very significant growth” in demand for places, he said.
“Over 30,500 students with more complex needs will be enrolled in special classes and special schools [in 2025] – an increase of 67 per cent since 2020.”
Adam Harris, chief executive of autism charity AsIAm, outlines continued issues with the provision of school places.
“We are continuing to see children travel very long distances to access school places,” he says. “That is not inclusion. That is moving people out of their communities.”
He is aware of many children without places as well as others, like Riley, receiving one-to-one tuition “which is no substitute for a permanent school place”.
Derval McDonagh, chief executive of Inclusion Ireland, echoes Mr Harris’s sentiments. She called for “full, clear data on school places by area”, adding: ”Just because there are places available doesn’t mean they are close to the child’s home.”
Mr Harris outlines how, due to the “failure year on year to provide a school placement for every child”, focus has been “on access”. He says this is “an incredibly low bar where you already have a constitutional right to access education”.
“We should be asking if the school place meets the child’s need. Does the placement have the culture, resources and knowledge to ensure every [disabled] child can thrive and flourish and be the best adult they can?“
Ms McDonagh says the fact this still had to asked in the cases of tens of thousands of children points to “systemic discrimination”.
Asked how Riley would benefit from a school place, Mr McMahon says: “Riley is disabled. He is not stupid. He knows he has no school place.
“Riley is easy-going. He enjoys cookery, messy play . . . At school, he is learning. Special school gives him skills and tools to reach his full potential to live the best life he can. And to know he is valued.”
This article is part of a series highlighting the barriers faced by disabled people in Ireland to realising their rights to participate fully in education, employment, housing, transport and society. Tomorrow: Everyday obstacles a constant worry for Ireland’s 300,000 visually impaired
