Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I know it is a project he fought hard for. When he sought and got initial approval in 2021, I would say he did not think he would still be here in 2025 seeking stage 2a to be progressed and approved, but here we are. I accept that is a long time and 12 months for the stage 2a process is a long time as well. I will certainly bring that back to the Department.

It is a very exciting project. It is incredible: four general classrooms, seven SET rooms, three science labs with preparation rooms, two engineering rooms, two technology rooms with preparation rooms, one graphics room, one art room, one textiles room, one economics room, project stores and two classrooms for special educational needs. It is an extraordinary project and I am sure it will serve the people of Cavan and the students incredibly well.

Delivery of this project has been devolved to Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board. A design team has been appointed to design the accommodation and bring the project through to the tender and construction phases. Projects progress from stage to stage in accordance with the project brief and the Department's design guidelines.

Under the ASA scheme, the Department has detailed procedures in place for appraisal, design, tender and construction of all school building projects. Design team procedures define the points in a project's life cycle at which approval must be sought from the Department which aligns with the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework. These processes include the stage approval reviews, which challenge all elements of design and specification. These are an essential element of good cost control and support market interest in our school building projects.

The project in Breifne College, as the Deputy outlined, is at stage 2a, involving the development of the design along with an accurate cost plan which best meets the design agreed at stage 1. In June 2024, almost 12 months ago, the Department received a stage 2a report from Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board for review. Following the submission of this report, the Department has been carrying out an intensive review from the technical and cost perspectives in accordance with the requirements of the public spending code. All projects, including this one, will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the public infrastructure guidelines. Managing, timing, scope and cost are crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall programme. While the school naturally has ambitious timelines for the delivery of the project, the project forms part of our overall pipeline and each project's progression to the next stage. Once the stage 2a report review is concluded, the Department will be in contact with Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board to advise how best to progress this important project.

What this project will do for education provision in Cavan is extraordinary. We have seen these projects rolled out across Ireland in the past four or five years and each town and area has benefited from them. It is high time Breifne College was able to avail of this. These processes take time, as we have seen in the past, but I accept that 12 months in stage 2a is a long period. I will relay that back to the Minister and the Department directly to try to get progress so that at least an opinion can be given to the college as soon as possible and so that the project can continue.

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