Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister has confirmed the Department is assessing the application. I do not want an amalgamation proposal to be approved for the schools to operate from the existing sites. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise. I compliment the Minister on the excellent school building programme she has had in place for the past three and a half years. My constituency, Cavan-Monaghan, is a major beneficiary, and in particular St. Bricin’s College in Belturbet through modern new buildings the Minister sanctioned and funded.

The two schools have totally outdated facilities that do not have room for expansion. They cannot provide for children with additional needs because they do not have the space to provide additional accommodation. To ensure the school-going population of Belturbet town and its immediate catchment area will have proper facilities, we need a commitment to a new school. The schools the Minister quite rightly mentioned that have major building projects approved or under way are some distance from Belturbet. I am speaking about the school-going population of Belturbet town, the population of which is growing, and its immediate catchment area.

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