David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and acknowledge the massive amount of work that is being done. Many of these schools are already bursting at the seams and are almost oversubscribed with students, so we are running fast to stand still. The work is very welcome and I am not decrying it in any way but we need to be proactive in our forward planning.

I again ask the Minister whether she will ask her officials to examine the possibility of using this now empty premises, which is of very high quality and well appointed, as a place for an Educate Together secondary school in east Cork. That could start as soon as September 2023. Many of the projects the Minister is talking about will not be in place for quite a bit of time. We know how long it takes to get building off the ground from our experience of Carrigtwohill. This proposal could take a lot of the pressure off in the short term while providing parents with the second level Educate Together school they are asking for and want. A report, which I know the Minister has on her desk, was issued by the parents and board of management of the Educate Together primary school in March 2021 regarding the secondary school crisis in east Cork. This shows the great need, which will only grow in light of the thousands of houses that are earmarked for building in east Cork and which are about to be started.

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