Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. I do not know the full history of the application, but the area seems to have been poorly serviced by previous Administrations. The new planning system that has been operating in my Department in recent years is correcting that. The new school will go ahead and the site has been secured. There is a delay with construction of the road, as it lies on third party lands that we do not control. The school is on track to be open for the 2016-17 school year, but we cannot guarantee that until the contractor is on site and work has begun.

The school has been designed and tendered for a phased hand-over. The aim is for phase one to be ready for the 2016-17 school year. I hope that we are on track in that regard. The Department is committed to the interim arrangements, including transport to the other site, until phase one is ready for hand-over. It looks like the project is moving along, but the Deputy must accept that the issue with the access road is outside the Department's control because third parties are involved. She is right, in that the area has been identified as a priority. Everything should be on track for next September.

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