Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply. It is good that it has been accepted that a school population of 1,300 must be catered for. I accept that interim accommodation has been provided but it is very cramped. There are problems in how the school must operate, and even before the onset of Covid-19, it had to operate a one-way system. Covid-19 has brought new pressure and the Minister announced a capital programme for internal works in schools.

The Minister should try to prioritise this school within the national development plan and school building programme. It is on the commuter line and Portarlington is a commuter town taking in a large area of east Offaly and north-west Laois. The area's population has grown by thousands, with the town's population by itself going from 3,500 to almost 8,000 when we take just its urban area. That is without taking in the catchment area.

Parents are raising this matter consistently with us and it really is a pressure point in the area for second level education. The Covid-19 pandemic has put the improvements that need to be made under big lights. I ask the Minister to try to expedite these improvements, as sometimes these programmes can get bogged down in the first or second stage for years on end. We need to move on this project in the capital programme.

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