Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, residents and parents in the area will welcome the news that what we have known for some time has finally been confirmed and that acquisition of the site is under way. There has been massive concern both this year and last year about the lack of second level school places in Dublin 15, Castleknock and areas around Ongar. I know that the Minister was only recently appointed, but since the Government took office, we have gone back to numbers in respect of a crisis that we have not seen for more than seven years. There is a lot of ground to be made up.

On the Minister's reference to a design and build contract, we had a discussion here about the unfortunate events that happened in Tyrrelstown. According to the analysis offered to me by various people involved in building and construction, design and build is not the best model because it means that the architects and the building company that will carry out construction are one and the same. This means that there may not be the necessary oversight. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure the quality of the build and design in order that the unfortunate events in Tyrrelstown will not be repeated?

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