Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for putting this up-to-date report on the record of the House. It corresponds substantially with the information I received in response to a parliamentary question I tabled on 13 October. I have been following this issue carefully and I raise it again today to try to ensure that the primary school project progresses to the next stage and is included in the next capital plan to be announced in the coming weeks. I know that there will be pressure from many schools in that regard. I will not even ask the Minister or Minister of State to visit the school in question because the case for a new building is well made and proves itself. Indeed, the need for both projects to proceed as quickly as possible is undeniable.

I wish to provide the Minister of State with additional information regarding the boys school. Such is the level of enrolment at the school that an extra classroom was approved based on the numbers at 30 September 2014. The school has made a planning application for that classroom. While we know this is only a temporary arrangement, the classroom must be provided before the new amalgamated school building is provided. The school is awaiting permission from Kildare County Council to commence the building works. It is waiting for the fire certificate to be approved and the disability access certificate to be granted by the local authority. It cannot issue a commencement notice until this documentation is provided but it is not expected before 15 November, which is awful. This will delay the construction of the new classroom which pupils should be in by now. The principal wrote to me and said that a class of 31 six and seven year olds is currently housed in the school library on foot of what the school believed would be a very short-term arrangement. The school believed that the classroom would be in place by now. The library stock of books and other resources had to be put into storage. This is not an acceptable situation but it illustrates perfectly the growing pressure on the school.

Another issue arises with regard to the proposed new school. I stood on Drogheda Street outside the girls school and the traffic situation there is unacceptable. There is very little space for cars to pull in, which makes dropping children to school very difficult. It is very important that a proper traffic management plan be included in the planning application in the interests of the children and those who are dropping them off.

I urge the Minister of State to push both of these projects on in the context of new construction programme that will be announced shortly.

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