Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the provision of a stand-alone extension project for the school to which he refers has been devolved for delivery to Donegal Education and Training Board, DETB. As Minister for Education and Skills and a Deputy for Donegal, I am delighted to report that there has been significant progress on the revised design for the project, which has been developed by the new architect. I can inform the Deputy that the main aspects of this revised design have been examined by officials and they are satisfied that it will provide for improved new building layouts for the project. The architect is now working with the rest of the design team with a view to providing my Department with a revised stage 2A submission as soon as possible and is targeting this to be done by the end of the year. The timeline for the planning process will be a key factor for determining the overall delivery timeline for the project.

The Deputy will also be aware that surveys to investigate issues with the school's main existing building were recently carried out. An initial report was provided to my Department, on foot of which further surveys were undertaken. A final report is being prepared and this will inform a decision on the best approach to addressing the issues raised in these reports.

I am also pleased to say that refurbishment works on the existing temporary accommodation on site and access for all works on the existing main building were successfully completed over the summer. I thank the school community for its patience as we worked through the provision of this improved accommodation and the DETB officials for their hard work in delivering it.

I understand the need for this project to progress and the efforts of the school and local parents to highlight this. I have met the school and parents about this project and I am fully committed to providing the funding necessary to complete the stand-alone extension and to resolve the issues with the existing building.

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