Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

It is with a certain level of regret that I raise this matter on the Adjournment this evening. In February, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, gave a commitment that construction of a new primary school at Star of the Sea in Passage West would go ahead. We are now three months from the end of the year and given a number of factors it seems a sod will not be turned in the Passage West area and that it will be business as usual for teachers, school staff, pupils and parents over the next school year.

It is unfortunate that the Minister has not come to the Chamber given his familiarity with the issue having represented the Cork South Central area in the past, and particularly so given that a series of promises were made relating to the school, which coincided with every general election and local election over the past ten years; if one was to track the dates of press statements from the Government and the dates of general elections one would see they are almost placed on top of one another. It is unfortunate that the Minister has not come to the Chamber this evening. However, I hope that some comfort for the local community in Passage West can be drawn from what the Minister of State has to say in his response.

I would not like to hear the Government hiding behind some current economic situation given that it is ten years since the first promise was made that a new school would be built in the Passage West area. Given that the local community has been waiting very patiently for this, it would be unfair for the Minister to push the patience of the local community any further.

On the first day of school this September, we witnessed 400 children being dropped off at a school built for 150 pupils - more than twice the capacity for which it was originally designed. The car park and play area no longer exist because they are full of prefabs. The over-congestion in the school makes day-to-day services and extracurricular activities, which operate outside the classroom, impossible for the school to provide.

Will the Minister give a commitment that the school will commence this year? Seven weeks ago, Cork County Council asked for further information in regard to the design brought forward by the Minister and his Department. I cannot figure out why it has taken almost two months for the Department to respond. I hope the Minister will indicate that the architect will be given a deadline to ensure the drawings are issued to Cork County Council, that the planning process will continue and that a decision will be made on the application in the coming weeks.

Will the Minister acknowledge the local community, which deserves any credit on this issue? It took its campaign to the streets of Cork city and the national and local media which eventually resulted in progress. It belies the notion that Fianna Fáil in government is not good for one's community. The local community was told by Ministers for Education and Science to leave the issue with them and that they would get back to it but it was only when the community stopped playing that game and went public that real action was taken and the Department started to issue it with meaningful responses.

I would like to know if the Department has issued the further information and drawings to Cork County Council. I would also like the Minister to give an assurance that construction will begin on Star of the Sea primary school before the end of the year and that funding for the school will not be lost as the Department prepares for the Estimates for the 2010 school year.

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