Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The question I put in the first session was what the three schools would like to see changed in terms of communication and so on. I put that question to the Department. The particular schools represented before the committee today are ones that have experienced long delays. There are many others on the list the delegates gave us that have not experienced long delays, but for those that have, will the Department consider having some kind of special communication system, whereby there would either be a project manager or a dedicated person to whom they could go when they had questions? That would be helpful. Obviously, it would not solve the problem for them, but at least they would have somebody to whom they could go. I want to put that proposal first to the Department and receive a response from it.

On site selection, there was an issue with the site for Mr. Bergin's school, in particular. It started off as a public private partnership. I do not know whether that was an issue or whether it makes it different in terms of site selection. I believe he said in frustration that if his was an Education and Training Board school, he would have a quicker solution.

In its submission the Department outlines the three main ways by which it purchases a site - through local authorities, by direct negotiation and through ETBs. If a school is not an ETB school and the local authority does not have a site, does it cause particular difficulties? Will the delegates address again some of the concerns expressed by the school about that issue?

The phrase "site sensitive" is used frequently when a new site is being purchased. To give an example in my constituency - Senator Paul Gavan referred to it also - there are two new post-primary schools in Limerick; one of which was opened last September, while the other will open next September. One has been built on a site owned by the local authority; therefore, there are no difficulties with it and there is clarity and so on. However, in the case of the other on the eastern side of the city, site acquisition is ongoing. When one asks a question, one is told that the issue is sensitive but that discussions are taking place with the local authority, etc.

Is there any way that there can be any more clarity on those ones because it is very frustrating? Does the Department give a bit more information to school management than would be generally publicly available or can it do that? The most frustrating thing can often be the fact that nobody knows why there is a delay or what the problem is with regard to sites. Clarity would help a lot in these situations. The witnesses have said that they cannot answer questions on specific projects today but at some stage I would like more information on the post-primary school in Limerick that will be under the patronage of Educate Together. That school is going to open in September but I am seeking information about the identification of a site so that a permanent building can be progressed.

I also seek more clarity on the devolved scheme. I know that some projects are done by way of a devolved system and that seems to be quicker. I seek some general information on whether schools can opt for that and if so, whether it would speed things up for them. It was announced this week that the Department is updating its website with information on the current status of all large scale projects being delivered as part of the schools building programme. What extra information will be on the website that is not currently on it?