Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Since the new Government was formed and we were all told about new politics, etc., there has not been one day that I have sat in the Chamber that I have heard questions put by any elected representative to the Government party Ministers that were answered appropriately and in a straightforward way. Tonight, Deputy after Deputy got up and asked questions and none of the questions was answered. If that is new politics, God help us.

I note the Minister of State who responded to me is not the Minister in charge but it comes back again to the questions I asked about it. It is okay for a Minister or a Department to make a commitment pre-election and then post-election abandon any commitment, but it has a devastating effect on those communities, students, parents and staff at the school. That school is overcrowded. They have been campaigning for years and no matter what was said, the commitment was given that the funding was secured and building would go ahead this year.

It comes down to the couple of questions. Was it a gimmick? Was it an empty election promise or is the Department so incompetent that it cannot correctly manage its capital investment budget? Is that the case? If neither of those is the case, then will the Minister give a commitment for the funding to be approved and a commencement date for the work to start on the badly needed seven classroom extension in Scoil Naomh Feichín?

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