Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response. I am pleased to hear the level of detail the Department has gone into in its planning for additional accommodation at the school and a long-term solution. For the benefit of the other Deputies present, when one thinks about a secondary school one thinks about large yards, perhaps a couple of football pitches and things like that. This school has a basketball court and that is it. There are 880 students on site. They have been there since 1985 and, through no fault of anyone, the site was overdeveloped and it is as simple as that.

I welcome the Government's capital plan for 2019 to 2022, which identified 45 schools and left no constituency untouched, or no county at least. Swords has benefited from a brand new 1,000-pupil school, Swords Community College, which is now fully completed and occupied up to fourth year. It is important for us to identify that this site is bang in the middle of the community. It is ideal for schooling but, unfortunately, the school has expanded beyond its boundaries. The outside recreational space for students is bordering on unhealthy.

See this speech in context