Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I presume the Department was liaising at every stage with fire safety personnel. Mr. Loftus might come in on what happened before I was in situ, but I know that, once the concern about a potential structural weakness emerged in late August, a team and a programme of work were set in place. The potential concern emerged in Tyrrelstown. Because Ardgillan community college was being assessed through a different fire safety stream and was not part of the 55 schools, it was decided to make it part of that assessment process. That is how we ended up in this place.

The Deputy mentioned community facilities. Obviously, a lot of disruption is being caused in the communities affected. For example, basketball teams are looking for facilities. The community building in Tyrrelstown is open again. The ground floor is open in Tyrrelstown and also in Lucan. Within a matter of weeks we needed to have strengthening and support work done on the first floor. We will also need strengthening and support work done on the second floor in both schools in Tyrrelstown to ensure the disruption will not continue. It will be done in within a matter of weeks. When can the work be done? It will have to be done at weekends. It cannot be done when the students are on site in a learning environment. We will have to figure out a way to ensure the strengthening and support work on the first and second floors will be completed.

The Deputy talked about how grave professional misconduct was dealt with in legislation. Obviously, we are taking the matter very seriously, which is why I have met the Attorney General. The Department's legal team is in contact with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and we will pursue every possible channel to ensure we get justice, not just from the point of view of the taxpayer but also for the communities affected.