Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy’s frustration with the delays to date and his passion to see this project over the line are obvious. Nobody in the Department or the Minister wants to delay this project any further.

Planning permission had been granted earlier in the process but issues with traffic management arose on stage 2(a). That necessitated several meetings with Meath County Council which caused delays. We would prefer if these issues did not arise but it is a fact of real life when one is dealing with large-scale projects such as these. The Deputy acknowledged that two other projects in the town went through the planning and building processes well. However, not every project will sail through. We all have these issues in our constituencies, as well as the frustrations with projects which take extra time to deliver.

It is not the political system, political will or finances that is holding it back, it is just that it is undergoing the different processes. St. Mary's special school has passed all the major hurdles, including one of the biggest hurdles which is getting on the plan. There are schools in my constituency which cannot get onto the next plan, although they are trying desperately to do so. The school has planning permission, which is a great achievement. It has been through the design process, that is, the 2a stage, which is where the issues arose, and has now gone to 2b which is the final stage of design and which involves firming up some minor changes that have arisen as a result of the issues around traffic. That has to be approved by the Department and then the pre-qualification stage which is narrowing down the list of contractors and going to tender. I cannot give the Deputy a date here and I would be loath to do so even if I could because that can build expectation and disappointment but this is on track and progressing well. I outlined the timelines, namely, six to seven months for the tendering process, having gone through the pre-qualification stage and 2b stage relating to details. However, both of those processes typically take weeks rather than months.

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