Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending. I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is present as well. Perhaps they can have a conversation afterwards and the Minister of State can give the Minister an insight into the conditions at the school.

St. Gabriel's does incredible work. There are over 40 children at the school aged between four and 18 years with severe to profound learning disabilities. It plays an incredibly important role in Cork city and the surrounding area. Many children come from a fair distance to avail of the school's services because it may be the only place that is suitable for them. The building is completely unsuitable. It is cold and, in some respects, exposed. The staff, management, parents and the committee there have done incredible work in making the most of the building, but the fact is that it is long past its sell-by date. It used to be a primary school, Scoil Colm Ban, until the late 1990s when it amalgamated with Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh and the building became available. While that might have been a sensible temporary arrangement 20 years ago, the building is long past its sell-by date now. Ultimately, it will never be fully fit for purpose.

I received a response from the Minister which stated that the school had recently secured the use of additional space in an adjoining property, that this has the potential to offer valuable space for interim accommodation needs but requires remedial work, that engineers are visiting and so forth and that an application will be made. That is good and positive, but it is not the long-term solution. The long-term solution is a new building on a new site. I am seeking a commitment from the Minister that this is going to happen. My main request is that she tell the House that there will be a new building that is fit for the needs of the school on a new site as well as that she give an update on progress on the interim work, which is badly needed.

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