James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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It is. I want to take my hat off to the Department after having been in Carrigtwohill Community College last week. It involves the largest capital investment ever made by the Department in the construction of a single complex, for two primary schools and a secondary school. After many years of lobbying and campaigning by the community to get the schools built, they are now built and look fantastic. Well done to the Department on that. It is good work. It took a long time but we got there in the end.

There are schools that have been given resources by the Department for the construction of sports halls. Some of them have been funded. There are schools that have been built in the Cork city area that have been provided with sports halls through additional investment or capital investment, but there is one in Mitchelstown that cannot get one. It is unclear why. PE is now on the leaving certificate curriculum but sports halls are not subject to the mandatory investment of the Department of Education. Regarding the case of the CBS in Mitchelstown, could Mr. Loftus look into how decisions on allocations for sports halls and where they go are made? Could he help with that particular case? The school authorities are very passionate about getting a sports hall. I can see the merit in an investment. It seems a biteen unfair that some schools get sports halls while others do not. Is this something Mr. Loftus could work with me on if I bring the case to his attention?