Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have some sympathy for the Minister of State who is simply reading out the answer he has been given by the officials. However, I hope he will express our disappointment to the Minister who is responsible for the response because it does not deal with the concerns we are raising, in particular in terms of the inadequacy of the two other schools which have been proposed either due to oversubscription or distance, the lack of public transport services and the need for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units and a community focus. The fact that there is such cross-party support is an indication of the strength of the local community's campaign. It is a rare day on which Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Anti-Austerity Alliance all campaign for a much-needed resource and it speaks volumes.

It is important to remember that this is an integral part of the South Dublin County Council county development plan, which was unanimously and democratically agreed by all political parties. The plan represents the considered view of the council. Like other Deputies, I ask the Minister of State to please convey our concerns to the Minister and ask him to respond to all of us directly on the points we have raised. I ask him to please ask the Minister to meet with the parents' campaign group. I think he would find that very constructive in respect of his consideration.

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