Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Michael Collins for raising this important matter for the people of Bandon and for the St. Brogan's College school community. The outline he has provided shows how important this is for many families who worry whether their child will have a place in the school of their choice, come September. I understand that St. Brogan's is a multidenominational, coeducational second level school with a very good reputation to which many families want to send their children. It is under the patronage of the Cork Education and Training Board.

I am pleased to be able to respond positively to Deputy Michael Collins's request for interim accommodation because, as he correctly says, the Department of Education and Skills approved permanent accommodation for this school in December. This will comprise four mainstream classrooms and two resource teaching rooms. Once the Department approves accommodation it is often devolved to the local patron to deliver it. The delivery of that project is the responsibility of Cork ETB. It has been given the green light and the funding by the Department of Education and Skills and this Government. I am very pleased that is the case.

We do need to consider what can be done in the interim. Pending the construction of the permanent accommodation we need to see whether some interim accommodation can be provided. I understand that the ETB in Cork has now submitted an application for interim temporary accommodation. The Department is responding very positively to this application and has confirmed to the ETB that the classroom accommodation will be approved. I am informed that the ETB will make arrangements to put the interim accommodation in place.

I hope this will come as good news to those worried about accessing a school place but as our population continues to grow and our economy recovers and we can invest more in our public services, this Government is building more schools and providing more school places than ever before in the history of the State. In the national development plan, our new capital plan, our vision for a new, brighter Ireland, Ireland 2040, announced last Friday in Sligo, we have enhanced and added further to that in the scale of our ambition, to make sure schools not just provide places but that they are provided with modern, fit-for-purpose facilities for physical education, PE, information and communication technology, ICT, and laboratories at second level. We have a very ambitious plan for school building projects across the country. As we consider what can be done in the interim in places such as Bandon, we will always respond positively to applications from patron bodies for temporary solutions and that is what we have done in this case. I hope that comes as good news to the people in St. Brogan's College.

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