Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important Topical Issue matter for debate.

It has recently been announced that four school building projects have been delayed in the constituency of Dublin Bay South. It is absolutely essential that those building projects commence rapidly and without any further delay. Two of the schools are secondary schools that were established in the past five years, namely Sandymount Park Educate Together Secondary School and Harold's Cross Educate Together Secondary School. Both have been outstanding successes. Parents made the brave decision to send their children to these new schools. Those decisions have been well vindicated because they are excellent schools and at present many children who are leaving national school want to go to them. However, as the Minister of State will be aware, the establishment of a new secondary school requires the parents and prospective parents to see continuous progress. Whatever about the decision of parents to put their children into a new school in the year it is established, it is extremely important that after three or four years parents see that the proposed new school that was planned to be built is on the road to development. Part of the reason many parents sent their children to these two secondary schools is that they were promised that state-of-the-art secondary schools would be developed. That is why it is so disappointing there has been a delay in both of these schools.

Sandymount Park Educate Together Secondary School, ETSS, is presently housed in Roslyn Park. The building was not designed to accommodate a modern secondary school. It got planning permission for a new school in 2021. Harold's Cross ETSS is now operating in modular accommodation in the grounds of the old Harold's Cross greyhound track. It was given planning permission in 2022. Like Sandymount Park ETSS, it expected that development would commence later this year with the putting of the projects for both jobs out to tender. Unfortunately the parents, principals and teachers are extremely disappointed about the delay and they find it hard to understand why such important projects are being delayed.

I stated that four schools are affected. In addition to the two secondary schools I have mentioned, projects for Shellybanks Educate Together National School, ETNS, which is on the grounds of Roslyn Park, and for Harold's Cross ETNS have been delayed as a result of the decision of the Government not to proceed.

I listened to the Minister of State's earlier response in which she said it was a matter of timing. However, it is more than a matter of timing for schools, for parents and most importantly for children who have a limited number of years in secondary school. It is obvious that these developments will proceed. There is doubt and no question mark over them, but that raises the question of what the reason for the delay is. The Minister of State indicated that discussions would take place between the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I ask her to bring a message back to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform that it is nonsensical to delay works on these schools. Education is an essential part of a child's development. As I stated earlier, it is essential for parents of children who are attending a new school to see progress. The difficulty is that if they do not see progress and if the delay continues for longer than people expect, it can have a negative and detrimental impact on the development of the school and on the school itself. I ask the Minister of State to prioritise this issue with the Department.

See this speech in context