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

As the Deputy is aware, the project in respect of the education campus in Buncrana was announced as part of the six-year capital programme last year. Officials in the Department have been liaising with officials in Donegal County Council under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites with regard to the procurement of a suitable site for the campus.  A significant number of potential site options were comprehensively technically assessed by officials from my Department in liaison with officials from the local authority.

The Deputy will appreciate the importance of a thorough appraisal of site options in order to ensure the achievement of value for money. In this case, the complexity of the issues associated with the development of the site options under consideration, combined with competing demands on my Department's resources, resulted in a lengthier time for site appraisal than would generally have been the case.

Following on from the site assessment exercise, a preferred site option was identified and officials from Donegal County Council, on behalf of my Department, have engaged with the landowner in question with a view to its acquisition.  These negotiations have not yielded a positive result to date but are currently ongoing. At the request of my Department, council officials have also engaged with the relevant landowners in respect of a second suitable site and this may provide an alternative option, if agreement can be reached on a purchase price.

Due to the commercial sensitivities attaching to site acquisitions generally, it is not possible to provide any further information at this time regarding the negotiation process or the site options. Once a suitable site has been acquired, my Department will be in a position to progress the project concerned into the architectural planning process.

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