Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Pelletstown Educate Together national school is a rapidly growing school in an area where hundreds of houses are being built, sold and occupied on a monthly basis. There is demand for an additional 60 children, approximately, for September 2019 and, thus, urgent requirement for two additional prefabricated classrooms and additional space for other school activities on the temporary site currently occupied by the school while it awaits a permanent building. The parents, pupils, teachers and staff of the school are concerned that nothing has happened to indicate the building of the two prefabs is receiving the urgent attention required to ensure that children have classrooms to go to come next September. What is the reason for the delay in submitting a planning application for these two prefabs, which are urgently required for next September? Will the Minister of State clarify whether the planning application to Dublin City Council in respect of the prefab development has been submitted and if agreement has been reached with the developers of this large housing site for the temporary installation of the prefabs on the site currently occupied by the school pending the development and construction of a permanent school on the lands at Pelletstown? This is a successful neighbourhood with an expanding population neighbourhood in Ashtown beside the Grand Canal.

In September 2017, the school was in crisis when prefabs failed to materialise and junior and senior infants had to be taken by bus to the Broombridge Educate Together school some miles away. This was very difficult for the pupils, teachers and the parents.

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