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

I add my voice to this issue. I had a meeting about St. Paul's in Monasterevin with the Minister and the forward planning unit in Tullamore. The situation in which the students and teachers find themselves is deplorable. Were this a private organisation or company, I do not doubt that it would be closed on several health and safety grounds. Some 160 boys have the use of only two toilets for the full day. There are no PE facilities or proper lunch facilities and there is a very bad situation regarding the use of their small hall. This has been ongoing for ten years. While Kildare County Council and the Department of Education and Skills have had to deal with several issues over time, the court date has now been put back three times, with the next date down for 28 January. The Minister can do nothing about that but this is a crisis for St. Paul's. The sod must be turned so that we know that the school building will happen. I understand that the land has not yet been signed over to the Department of Education and Skills and to St. Paul's. I and other Deputies have been reassured that this will not stand in the way of the school progressing, but we need reassurance on this matter.

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