Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of a new post-primary school in Skibbereen, County Cork.The property management section of the Office of Public Works was requested to source a suitable site to facilitate the proposed new school in Skibbereen. However, the sourcing of a greenfield site has proved very difficult to date. Following an advertisement, a number of sites were identified and examined. Those considered potentially suitable were then discussed with Cork County Council. No site was deemed suitable from the perspective of the Department, the OPW and Cork County Council.

Owing to the difficulty in sourcing a greenfield site, the Department decided to investigate the possibility of utilising the Rossa College site to facilitate the proposed building project. A feasibility study of the site and the building was commissioned in order to determine how best to provide for the long-term accommodation needs of the proposed school. While the outcome of the feasibility study was positive with regard to the provision of a new school, there were some access issues to be resolved and the Department requested the OPW actively to pursue a solution in this regard. However, this option is no longer being pursued owing to opposition from the trustees of the proposed new community school to the Rossa College site.

The Department will continue to work to identify a suitable site for this project and will keep the trustees informed of progress. Once a suitable site has been secured, development of this project will be considered in the context of my Department's school building and modernisation programme. I again thank the Deputy. With the information that he has now obtained, perhaps he might be able to figure out a resolution to local opposition to particular sites.

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