Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I fully endorse what Deputy McConalogue has said. He has cited an example of the real issues that parents and teachers are facing whereby a school that was in the programme is no longer included. There can be various reasons for that, including planning issues, objections or the length of time involved. As I have said before, the idea of a five-year planning programme needs to be examined. We should also be developing ten and 15-year programmes so that schools know where they stand.

One of the biggest issues concerning school building programmes is that when a number of sites have been identified, it goes to planning stage and then objections are lodged, which delay matters. Sometimes it goes to An Bord Pleanála but these issues need to be dealt with. I recall that at a previous committee meeting, the Minister said that planning laws were being examined with a view to fast-tracking such proposals, without obviously compromising the planning system. Does the Minister have any further updates on that?

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