Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right. This has had something of a chequered history. The project to deliver a new school building was included as part of my Department's six-year capital programme announced in November 2015. The school is currently located in temporary accommodation. A potential site option was proposed by the school at an early stage in the process and, following assessment, was deemed to be suitable by the Department. The Department was willing to acquire this site, and departmental officials engaged in lengthy negotiations with the relevant landowner. Despite the best efforts of my officials, however, the land acquisition was not concluded due to issues outside the control of my Department.

Officials from my Department worked closely since with officials from Meath County Council to identify an alternative permanent site for the school. A number of site options were identified. Each was investigated by my Department in conjunction with officials from Meath County Council. Unfortunately, in the case of all options identified either the land could not be acquired from the landowner or the site was ultimately considered unfeasible to develop.

My Department has since identified a further site which is currently available and has been deemed suitable on technical examination. My officials have initiated negotiations with the landowner with a view to acquiring this site as a final solution.

I appreciate that the process has taken considerable time. In this case, although the Department was willing to acquire a site and despite the resources and time deployed, the process has been protracted and several options have been pursued. Unfortunately, none has yielded a successful outcome.

The inclusion of the project in the six-year capital programme demonstrates my Department's commitment to the delivery of a new school building for the school in question. I assure Deputy Byrne that my officials are working to acquire a suitable site as quickly as possible.

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