Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I accept that the school is on the 2016-21 capital funding programme, that means nothing when there is no site. It has taken too long to get the site that is needed as a first step. I welcome the Minister's confirmation that the ongoing negotiations relate to the first preferred site. As he knows, recent local media coverage suggested that the site in question had been sold. There is no doubt that this preferred site needs to be acquired if at all possible. Every effort needs to be made to secure it for these schools. I urge him to expedite this project in his capacity as Minister and as a representative of Donegal. It has gone on for too long. There is no doubt that it has not been prioritised by the Government in recent years. It needs to be prioritised in order that the site can be secured. DETB wrote to the previous Minister on a number of occasions to seek meetings, but it did not receive a reply for a long period. This matter was not being prioritised at that juncture. I will work with the Minister in any way I can to ensure it is now brought to a conclusion. The parents, teachers and, in particular, pupils of these three schools deserve a new school, which needs to be a priority for the Government.

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