Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an important ongoing issue. I spoke to my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, about it yesterday. Looking at it in a common sense, value for money way, the BIFE site is 12 acres and owned by the State. It will not cost money to acquire, and, therefore, it is an option. There is also a constraint on the Putland Road site because there is a protected structure on it. It is a smaller site of some 4.3 acres. We have to ask whether the school can do what it wants to do on a 4.3 acre site. The Deputy believes it can. We need local engagement now more than ever. I have spoken to the Minister for Health, about this matter, and Deputy Brady has raised this on a number of occasions with me. A meeting of minds is required at tomorrow's meeting. The formal decision by the board of the ETB to reject the BIFE site as a preferred location was only taken earlier this week. We have to take that on board. From a taxpayer's point of view, it must be acknowledged that the officials were considering a site that would not cost anything. The Putland Road site would cost money, and it is also zoned. I do not know what the valuation of the site is or what it might cost. Patronage was awarded in 2013 and the school was up and running in 2016. Education is the most important issue, and I will focus on that. We need certainty on what the next stage will be. Tomorrow's meeting will be crucial in that regard.

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