Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply, which contained some positive news. The key point is that, even after a site has been secured, it will take a considerable time, perhaps more than two years, to go through the various stages of design, planning and construction. The best case scenario will see the school up and running in 2022 or 2023.

I will outline the demands on the school. It is a victim of its own success, having grown so quickly from 40 pupils in its first year to more than 200 by September. That is no bad thing. I welcome that the Department is engaging intensively with the county council and the ETB on trying to progress the school. There were difficulties with some of the sites that were identified. It makes sense to try to get the most suitable site, and I welcome that the Department is working to advance the acquisition of a site for Coláiste Dhún Másc and trying to progress the project as quickly as possible.

I urge the Minister of State to speak to the Minister, Deputy McHugh, to whom I will also speak, and give him the message that, while we welcome the good news, we need to keep the push on and get a site secured so that the project can move to the design, planning permission and construction stages as quickly as possible. The population growth in the county, in particular the number of baptisms in Portlaoise and its neighbouring parishes, tell us that there will be a large increase in its secondary school population in the next five to ten years.

See this speech in context