Students, staff and parents at a secondary school in Co Wicklow have protested outside Leinster House over future accommodation concerns.

North Wicklow Educate Together has to vacate its temporary home by next April, but the Department of Education has yet to source new accommodation.

The school says the department has known for over two years that its current premises will no longer be available by the middle of next year.

The school says it is particularly concerned about the impact the uncertainty and future upheaval may have on students with special needs.

North Wicklow Educate Together has a specialised class for children with autism.

Principal Jonathan Browner said the school was making active inquiries to hotels and sports clubs about sourcing temporary accommodation.

Mr Browner said it was incredible that the matter had got to this stage.

"We've been warning that the lease is going to run out and no one is listening to us. We feel we're being stonewalled," he said.

The school is appealing to Minister for Education Joe McHugh to intervene.

The Department of Education says it intends to build a new school for 1,000 pupils of North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School.

A spokesperson said the site identified for the school was on the campus of Bray Institute of Further Education.

The spokesperson added that all options were being examined to find a new temporary home for the school and the department was liaising with both Educate Together and Kildare and Wicklow Educate and Training Board (KWETB).