Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The building of a new secondary school in the town of Kells is an extremely important issue for the town and the surrounding communities. The local community supports the building of a new school but wants it to be completed as soon as possible. It is equally important that the right site is chosen and the future and current needs are met.

I and my colleague, Deputy Hannigan, other local Deputies, the town council and the local area councillors have raised concerns about the Cavan Road site. We think that the Navan Road site would be a better long-term solution. The Kells development plan recently zoned two suitable sites but it is my view and that of my colleagues that every effort should be made to develop the school on the community zoned land adjacent to the existing school campus on the Navan Road. The site on the Cavan Road is approximately 9.5 acres but it is landlocked by a supermarket on one side, a business on the other and a residence on another making it impossible to expand it for future needs. On the Navan Road site there are 12 acres adjacent to the existing school and the landowner has confirmed willingness to carry out a land swap which could be completed within a short timeframe. The site would also allow for future expansion, which is extremely important. It has been acknowledged that approximately 240 m of new road would be needed for this area but that land is available free of charge to the Department of Education and Skills should it decide to go with this site.

From a traffic management point of view the Navan Road site is much better for car-sharing. Parents would not have to make two journeys up and down the town. There are amenities next to the site, a swimming pool and playing fields. Many of the facilities there serve the schools that are there already and it would be detrimental to put the school at the other end of town. The Department needs to conduct a full assessment and comparison of the costs of the overall projects, including the possibility of having to carry out the works on the Cavan Road. The town council and Meath County Council have unanimously adopted motions asking the Department to carry out proper assessments on both sites. I ask the Minister to consider that today.

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