Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for taking this Topical Issue at this late hour. It concerns the need to progress the delivery of new school buildings for schools in my constituency. Dublin Mid-West is a thriving and rapidly growing area that includes communities such as Lucan, Clondalkin and Palmerstown, and the communities and villages of Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas.

The need for capacity in our schools has simply never been greater, in particular at post-primary level. Far too often I am contacted by panicked parents who cannot find somewhere for their children to go to secondary school or by exasperated principals who have been waiting decades for the promised extension for their school community. These are people who are fed up of waiting patiently. They are tired of being the bad guys and having to tell parents the school cannot accept their children as students. As a result, in many cases parents are having to send their children out of the county to schools in Kildare to find a school place. They are having to travel long distances to and from school every day, relying on bus services that are flawed at best and non-existent at worst.

While the lack of capacity and the long delays in delivering school buildings is massively frustrating for both parents and students who cannot find school places, it is equally impactful on students and staff in situ, who are packed like sardines into cramped classrooms that are no longer fit for purpose. To be honest, it is shameful that in 2022 all of our students do not have equality when it comes to access to education. That is the reality. Some schools do not have a physical education, PE, hall, woodwork room or home economics room because, instead of being in a promised new building, they are left to languish on a waiting list in Marlborough Street or Tullamore.

Let us talk about examples. Lucan Community College applied for a new school building in 2009. The project proceeded to tender but, 13 years later, those in the school are still waiting. Griffeen Community College had its planning application approved in February this year, but eight months later, the project still has not even gone to tender. Griffeen has been accommodated in Kishoge since it opened. Why do we even open schools when we do not have buildings for them? Should that not be the first step?

Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole has been trying to get a new building since I was a student there, which was neither today nor yesterday. The school has more than 900 pupils who are now mostly accommodated in temporary prefabs. In September last year, the school received 280 applications for enrolment but could only accept 180. Its outdated building cannot accommodate students with physical disabilities. That is another reason the school urgently needs a building.

In the next village over, Saggart, is Coláiste Pobail Fóla. It is only a stone's throw from Citywest, where a large number of Ukrainians are being accommodated. That school is having to turn away a lot of those children because it does not have extra capacity.

We know housing is the biggest challenge facing this Government and areas such as mine are playing a role in resolving the crisis. More homes are being built and more estates are popping up, but they need to be met with amenities, infrastructure and adequate capacity for our schools. Across the board in my constituency, school building projects are languishing at tender stage with no sign of movement and no ground being broken. That must change.

I am asking the Minister to expedite the tender process to get boots on the ground in our schools and to start building across Dublin Mid-West. The delivery of a new school building is a welcome event for communities. It generates hope and excitement. The Minister saw that first-hand just last month at the opening of Stewarts School in Lucan. In Dublin Mid-West, we have many school communities in desperate need of the hope and excitement new school buildings would bring.

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