Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

Níl sé seo an chéad uair a luaigh mé an gá atá ann suíomh a chur ar fáil do Gaelscoil de hÍde in Órán Mór. Tá sé scanallach go bhfuil an Gaelscoil, a bhunaíodh i 1994 agus a glacadh leis ar bhuan-fhoras a 1998, ag tosnú a dara deich mbliana gan aon suíomh buan a bheith ar fáil dos na 170 daltaí. Is mian liom freagra díreach a fháil ar na ceisteanna bunúsacha atá agam. An mbeidh an bord bainistíochta, na múinteoirí agus na tuismitheoirí in ann daltaí nua a ghlacadh an fhómhar seo chugainn?

I should say that what is taking place in relation to Gaelscoil de hÍde is little less than a disgrace. An appalling amount of cur i gcéill has been involved. The parents' action group was recently devastated to learn it could not proceed with architectural planning for the school. The Minister for Education and Science announced in November 2006 that Gaelscoil de hÍde had been "given the go-ahead to start architectural planning for a new school". However, at an information session organised by the schools building section of the Department of Education and Science in December 2006, the parents' group was explicitly told that the architectural planning process could not start until a site had been acquired. No concrete progress has been made on site acquisition or architectural planning for more than a year, since the parents' group met the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on 1 February 2006. I was present when a delegation from the school expressed its frustration on other occasions.

The school, which was established in 1994, has been operating on a permanent basis since 1998, but it does not have a permanent building. Its 170 pupils are mostly housed in prefabricated accommodation on a site of less than half an acre. The school pays rent of €125,000 every year. The parents were told over a year ago that the school had been placed in band 1.1, which meant that it was an immediate priority. There have been some recent developments — we cannot protect ourselves from the time of the year that is in it. The school was visited by the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Parlon, when he was viewing the flooding in the region, which I am sure he will solve in the next few weeks. When the Minister of State and his representatives visited the school, I asked them a number of straight questions. How many sites have been investigated by the OPW? What is the status of any of the sites in question? When will the OPW inform the Department of Education and Science that a site has been identified? I addressed a further question explicitly to the Minister, Deputy Hanafin. Will the school's board of management, parents and teachers — as well as other parents who may wish to send their children to a scoil lán-Ghaelach — be able to accept children in September?

Oranmore, which is a rapidly expanding area, has been the victim of appallingly bad planning. Most recently, an application has been submitted to build hundreds of houses on a flood plain. It is interesting that Ministers and Ministers of State have come to Oranmore and meetings have been held, but we are no closer to locating a site for the school. Tá sé in am freagra a fháil. What stage is the process at? What progress has been made in the talks with a person who may give the school a site? When will the new school building open? An mbeidh sé ar chumas an scoil glacadh le daltaí i mí Mheán Fómhair seo chugainn? Ba mhaith liom freagra díreach a fháil. An mbeidh an scoil in ann é sin a dhéanamh, nó nach mbeidh?

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