Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under the Department’s design and build programme. I want to be clear that this project is a priority for the Department. The permanent location for the school will be on a greenfield site in the Department’s ownership at Maryborough, Douglas, Cork. The school when complete will provide accommodation for 600 pupils and a special education needs unit with three classrooms. The timeline for the delivery of this project has been impacted by difficulties in obtaining planning permission. An application for planning permission was previously refused by the local authority. The Department appealed this decision to An Bord Pleanála but it was upheld.

Due to a change in the local government boundary arrangements in Cork, the site for this Douglas ETSS is now within the environs of Cork City Council. In that regard, the Department has engaged with the council in advance of a new application for planning permission that can take account of concerns raised about traffic management. A pre-planning meeting was held on 16 April with Cork City Council. The Department’s project manager is actively working with Cork City Council's roads department to agree various traffic requirements in advance of lodging the planning application. A planning consultant has also been appointed to assist in the planning process and it is anticipated that the planning application will be lodged in quarter 3 of 2021.

It is not possible to provide a timeframe for the progression of the project to tender and construction stages until such time as the necessary statutory approvals have been secured. The Department will continue to address the interim accommodation requirements for the school and keep the patron body and school updated regarding the progress of the application. The Deputy will be familiar with this matter and I am sure he will appreciate that there was an issue with the original application for planning permission. However, the determination, tenacity and focus of the Department in this regard is demonstrated by the fact that we are moving towards a second application.

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