Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that the Minister of State indicated the stage 2b process is in its final stages. However, he knows as well as I do that the critical next step is moving to a tender so that a contractor will be appointed. With the best will in the world, even if the Minister of State announced tonight that stage 2b was complete and it was moving to tender, we would still probably be looking at more than two years by the time the new school was completed.

The neighbouring town of Gorey, my home town, has three schools, the third of which was sanctioned by the previous Minister, Deputy Foley, will soon reach capacity because the population in north Wexford and south Wicklow is growing incredibly quickly so there will be pressure for additional places in the area. That is why it is critical that Carnew gets a modern schools as soon as possible.

The other big concern for the school community is that adequate sporting facilities be made available on the site. What the school wants to see, which makes economic sense, is that the groundworks are carried out to ensure those sporting facilities can be provided while the school is being built. It is about long-term planning in the area. This has to be a priority. I appreciate the Minister of State being here at this time. I have tabled quite a number of parliamentary questions on this. He can understand how when serving such a wide area, much of it including rural communities, that this school is at its heart and it is critical we get a timeframe as to its delivery.

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