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

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue.

The Department is committed to a rebuild on the existing site. That has been accepted. As the Deputies have indicated, it is due for commencement between 2019 and 2021. It is at an early stage of planning within the Department. As Deputy Ó Broin has said, there are issues from the Department's point of view. It needs additional information. The rebuild is designed to cater not just for the existing school numbers, but also for projected additional needs. I understand that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the school are involved in providing the additional information needed to identify the scale of those needs. The information in question will be an important input into the Department's planning. In addition, I understand from the Department that mapping and service identification in respect of an adjoining site, which has been put forward prospectively as part of the site on which the development will occur, is not available to it in the detail it needs. I do not know whether it is an issue for the school or the council to indicate what underground services are there. Additional information is being sought in respect of water and other issues.

I would be sympathetic to the proposal that this should be fast-tracked, if possible. The sheer growth in school numbers has put severe pressure on my Department. We are providing 15,000 additional school places every year, driven simply by demographic need. At the same time, we are trying to provide approximately 5,000 replacement places. This school would largely fall into the latter category. As the Deputies will understand, the Department has scheduled its work in accordance with that plan. It works through projects on a sequential basis. In light of the unanimity of the Deputies' views, I will explore whether there is scope for this project to be moved forward more quickly than anticipated.

The Department seems to need additional information from the school. I am not sure whether that information is entirely available to the principal or is something we need to source, along with the school, from other agents. It appears that South Dublin County Council and the NCSE will have roles to play in accurately identifying the scale of the project and determining the suitability of the site. They will need to ascertain whether any issues pertaining to the site could create delays in planning, design and so on. That is where it stands. I will seek additional information on this at a personal level to see whether we can do anything to comply with what the Deputies have said.

I have been seeking to prioritise children with special educational needs. In the past two years, I have been able to provide for 1,500 additional resource teachers and 2,000 additional special needs assistants. When special classes are needed, they are treated as emergency works. We are trying to make sure children with special needs are not disadvantaged in any way. I will explore this further in view of what the Deputies have said to see what is possible. If they can shed any light on the issues that are holding this up, according to what I have been told, I would appreciate it.

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