Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State very much indeed for his response. It is appreciated, but in some ways we are none the wiser.

I do not have a colleague who has not mentioned a school - indeed it is four schools in the constituency of my party leader, Deputy Bacik - that has not been affected. Councillor Fiona Bonfield spoke to me about Newport College in Tipperary, which is an area with which the Minister of State will be familiar given that it is in a neighbouring constituency. The school is overcrowded and requires these resources to develop and evolve.

The devolved process that was announced some years ago by the Department to engage with the local authorities to make processes more efficient are all well and good on paper. I do not believe that any of delays we are talking about here are down to Louth County Council. The schools were blindsided by the announcement last week. Today, my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, demanded a list from the Department of the 58 schools affected and the 29 that are most directly affected, including Ardee Educate Together National School. If the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, understood the circumstances in which the school is operating and if the Minister for Education understood in more detail the circumstances in which the school is operating, nobody in their right mind would continue to delay this project. The school is operating out of building dating back to 1812. The oldest of the prefabs on site is 20 years old. I have previously been informed about rat infestations, dampness and cold. This is an economy that is doing well. We had a surplus last year of almost €6 billion and we are constantly told that this economy is doing well, but our society is not. When people see school projects being delayed, partly because of construction inflation, they ask questions about how the Department of Education is functioning. To the credit of the current Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, his announcement last year on burden-sharing with contractors, if we can call it that, was interesting, in terms of delivering national development programme projects. How will that operate in the context of the school programme? In other words, will the Department absorb some of the additional cost that will accrue because of increases in construction cost inflation? Is the Minister of State aware how that will work and how it will be applied to these projects in education?

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