Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the officials again this evening. I have been banging the school transport drum for a while, and I want to give the Minister and her officials kudos that the review has been undertaken. I know that it will be a number of years before we see the review come to fruition. I hope that, in time, it will result in every child having the option of getting to school on a bus. For people who might be listening at home, and who are going through the torture every year of waiting for concessionary seats to materialise and so on, can the Minister confirm that any new routes from last year will be maintained this year? As we work our way through that review, the Minister might make a comment on that. The big concern I have, although not so much in my constituency, to be fair, is that contractors have pulled out on a number of routes around the country. On occasion, that is due a lack of drivers and so on. Has the Department had any dealings with Bus Éireann? If so, has it expressed any concerns about providing the drivers for next September? Where are we on that?

My second question is on special schools. As the Minister knows, we were fortunate enough in Cork to get a new special school building in Carrigaline, a large extension to a school in Rochestown and St. Killian's Special School in Mayfield in my constituency. To be fair, the Department has done an awful lot of good work in Cork in the last number of years. However, I am hearing again on the ground that we might be short a number of school places for September, and I wanted to query if the Minister is aware of that. If she is, what steps are being taken by the Department to ensure that children will have school places come September if there is a shortfall?

The third question follows on from Deputy O'Callaghan and relates to school buildings. Again, I have to acknowledge that in my constituency there is a new school in Carrignavar. Just outside my constituency boundary, there is the largest campus in the country in Carrigtwohill. There is a new school in Blarney, and massive extensions in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh and New Inn are planned as well. There is a massive building programme, and I can testify to that in Cork. However, I have one specific issue with a primary school in Ballincollig. Maybe I can follow it up with the Minister afterwards. It is Scoil Eoin, which is on a very tight and restricted site. The school has been given permission to open ASD classes. It has been approved by the NCSE but the site is so restrictive that it essentially has to knock and build additional space. In 2021, when Department officials visited the site, I do not think it was - and I hate to use this word - cost-effective and the decision was taken not to proceed with the project at that point. I understand the matter is under review. It has been three years since the initial meeting in 2021. Does the Minister have an update on that? She might not have it now but I would like her to follow up with me and get that review done as quickly as possible. There are 20-odd students in the school who might have a requirement for a special class. They are already attending the school and the proposed building would transform what the school can deliver for those students. If the Minister had any update on that, I would appreciate it.