John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the current position on the major school building project for Scoil Naomh Feichín in County Louth.

First, I did not make any commitment, as Deputy Munster may understand, because I was not Minister at the time. I will be quite blunt and honest with the Deputy. I am not aware of a commitment that was made to the school. I can tell the Deputy the following.

Scoil Naomh Feichín is a co-educational vertical primary school under the patronage of the Catholic diocese of Armagh. The brief for the project is to provide an extension of seven classrooms and refurbishment of the existing accommodation to cater for a 16-classroom school. The staffing at the school is currently a principal with 11 mainstream teachers and two special education teachers. The enrolment for 2015-16 school year was 295 pupils, which reflects an incremental growth of 2% over the past five years.

The design team for this project was appointed in February 2012 when the project commenced architectural planning. However, the problem, as I have been told, was that project was not included in the five-year construction programme announced in 2012. The project was subsequently included in the six-year construction programme announced in November 2015 and is scheduled to commence construction in 2016.

The building project for Scoil Naomh Feichín is now at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been obtained, tender documents have been prepared and the stage 2B submission has been approved by my Department.

However, on 1 January 2016 there were 66 major projects under construction. Since the start of this year, 14 more major projects have been progressed to construction which brings to 36 the number of projects authorised to progress through the tender process with a view to starting on site in the coming months. That represents a total of 116 major projects, either under construction or progressing to commence construction in 2016. The existing contractual commitments for 2016 now fully account for the funding which was allocated for 2016 under the previous Government. This meant that the progression of the major extension and refurbishment for that particular project to tender stage was not possible at that time. Apparently, Department officials wrote to the board of management on 28 April, before I became Minister, notifying it of this.

However, having read all the submissions, the Department has said it will monitor expenditure on existing contractual commitments over the coming months and, as funding allows, other projects, including this, will be considered for progression through the tender process with a view of starting on site as soon as possible.

The commitment I can give to Deputy Munster is that I will speak to the Department over the next couple of weeks. I will find if a commitment was made, as Deputy Munster has said it was, under the previous Government. Being honest and upfront with Deputy Munster, I do not know that and the Deputy must take my word on that. I give Deputy Munster my word that, having spoken to the Department, I will come back to her. That is the best I can do.

See this speech in context