Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I acknowledge that there has been a lot of investment in school buildings. However, my constituency of Dublin Fingal West is one of the youngest constituencies in the country. Balbriggan is the youngest large town in the country. We are rapidly growing. The towns of Rush and Lusk were tiny villages when I was a child but are now full of young and growing families. We are not delivering schools quickly enough. In Rush in particular, three schools have been waiting for decades. We need to see faster delivery.

Since I have been elected, I have been on a tour of the constituency to meet all the schools, to understand their challenges and to see the conditions they are working in. Some are working in appalling conditions. They have been delivered extensions of prefabs, which are uninsulated and falling apart. Kids are wearing coats in the classroom and there is damp, mould, unsuitable toilet facilities, etc. We need to make sure the Department is engaging, delivering and working with our principals who are doing their very best. They are not project managers, however.

See this speech in context