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

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising this issue. This is a very significant purchase by the Department. From our point of view, it is an area where it is difficult to get land and we were very pleased to get the opportunity to acquire this site. As the Deputy will be aware, courtesy of Dublin City Council the land has been rezoned from recreational and part residential zoning to Z15 zoning, which is to protect and provide for institutional and community uses. This rezoning, agreed by the city council only this week, will facilitate the provision of a school on the site. Conveyancing and so on must be completed before plans for the development of the site can commence.

The Deputy is aware of how the system works. There are 314 school planning areas across the country. While this site is directly in the Dublin 6-Clonskeagh area, there are four other adjoining planning areas whose trends we would examine. The expectation of the Department is that in the future there will be very significant requirement for additional school places at post primary level in these areas. It is projected that as many as 5,000 places will be needed over the medium term.

Against that background, this is a very significant acquisition by the Department. It will help us to plan for pressures both at primary and post-primary level.

The precise usage of the school will have to be determined by the Department. A demographic review is taking place. If it reveals pressure for an additional school, that would go through the system the Deputy described under which Educate Together was selected for a post-primary school. There would once again be an opportunity for parents' preferences to be expressed in regard to whose patronage should arise.

I have carefully noted the Deputy's comments regarding the suitability of this site for a particular school. As he can understand, any such issues will have to be carefully evaluated by the Department. It will not be a political decision, rather it will be a decision based on the best interests of planning the future of the area. Given the capacity of the site, although it is constrained, I believe the Department would hope it could have both a primary and a post-primary school on it, if it can be developed. Good design of such a site would be the first matter the Department would examine, namely, the potential of the site and what are the best ways to deploy that resource to meet the needs. I will pass on the Deputy's points about the particular patron and about the school that is developing. As he will be aware, there is an early stage after a school starts up and builds up its numbers where there is usually time to anticipate what is the best way to meet the needs of the school as it develops.

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