David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He has seen my frustration. This is exactly the same response I got last July when I submitted a parliamentary question on the matter. There has been no change. In fact, the reply is an awful lot shorter. It is almost an insult. The final sentence reads: "These lands are designed to retain overflow flood waters during periods of heavy rainfall and therefore are unsuitable for development" as a playing pitch. Who says? Where is the expertise here? It is a green bloody field that is level and is grassed. That is perfect. There is no water on it for months of the year. Most other playing pitches around the country flood and retain water, and people do not play on them when they are wet like that. It does not make any sense at all.

I am delighted the Minister of State is going to back and ask for this to be redone. He mentioned all the playing areas on are on the school's campus that are tarmacadamed and concreted. That is fine, but those surfaces do not soak in any rain either, so one would wonder about that in one sense. The children are looking out at this field. It is just over the fence. It is perfect. It is level, flat and dry for most of the year. If it floods and there is water on it common sense says people should not go on it and people will not go on it. I would like to see the engineering advice which states that it is unsuitable for development as a playing field. Maybe the Minister of State can get it for me or I might make a freedom of information request to the Department on the matter because I feel so passionate about it.

This is a waste of public resources. What is the Department going to do with it? Will we let the field sit there forever, with weeds growing on it, and cut the grass four or five times a year and just keep it as something nice to look at? It does not make any sense. I welcome the Minister of State's understanding and support. I hope the Minister for Education and her officials are listening. They should go down and look at this rather than giving me a cut-and-paste load of rubbish here. That is not intended as a slight on the Minister of State. It does not make any sense and the people in the area are totally frustrated about how this field has been left sitting there and cannot be used. This is badly needed, so let us get on with it.

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