Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister's reply. As I say, there is a broader issue not just on this site but across north Dublin. We have schools that were perhaps built when we had much larger and younger populations in certain areas. Unfortunately, they have seen a reduction over time. They are large campuses. They are not new school buildings. They are often 50 or 60 years old. We need a broader policy to analyse those and to see how we can get the best value for money for investment in them. They also have great community value, for example. Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, which I referred to, is getting a fantastic new school building. It is making facilities available to the community and locating facilities within the design for that. That strikes to the broader point that these are huge assets. They might have slightly reduced numbers but they still need the same building maintenance and management. I would say the same about Holy Spirit girls school, which has a fantastic new extension. Work is going on. I have education queries on both those applications but they are not for the Dáil. They are examples of old buildings being invested in. I would like to see us do more of that across north Dublin.

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