Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. While I welcome the delivery of school accommodation in Newbridge, Kilcullen and Athy, I am confused about why south Kildare was on the list in 2015 but not on the list in 2018. Is there a suggestion that the political will which existed three years ago is now gone? Given that the population of County Kildare is growing exponentially, I cannot understand why it has gone backwards on the list. County Galway was included in the 2015 review and is included in the new-build list. Can the Minister provide figures that illustrate why County Galway was chosen and County Kildare was not chosen? We had a long conversation with the officials about the geographic information system yesterday. I certainly believe it is outdated. It is not as accurate as one would hope. While I am pleased to hear that the Minister will continue to review the position in south Kildare, I would like to hear the rationale for the decision not to include it. The provision of ASD units is a particular issue. We have 64 such units at primary level but just 18 at secondary level. I do not see where provision for additional ASD units has been included in the current plans. The position at St. Paul's secondary school in Monasterevin must be addressed with absolute urgency because the staff and students are operating in a difficult and challenging educational environment. Morale is really low. We need to have very fast delivery in relation to this school.

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