Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for that reply on behalf of the Minister for education. I have to ask him directly. Is he comfortable with children walking on asbestos tiles every day of the week? The tiles were broken by works undertaken three years ago. We know that there is no safe level of asbestos. I have to ask him that direct question.

The Minister of State said the project was completed in 2022. He mentioned the good money, €6 billion, being spent on schools. Some of it has been well spent. Some of it, frankly, has been appallingly spent. A project manager was taken on to oversee this project. It is a project manager who, I am aware, is also involved in other school projects at this time. If that project manager has reported back to the Department of education that the project has been completed, there is a serious dereliction of duty there. In fact, I would go as far as to say that somebody has been seriously negligent in reporting to the Department. There is fault here on the part of the project manager and whatever officials in the Department wrote the statement claiming the project had been completed in 2022.

It is a source of shame that the Department of education would consider any works left half-done to have been completed. This is particularly the case in a school that provides a safe and secure space to children, many of whom have gone through trauma, are going through homelessness accommodation or have seen things in their life that any child should not see. There is an even greater impetus and need to ensure that we get things right in this school, yet we have this nonsense that the project was completed in 2022. That is factually incorrect. I would like the Minister of State to bring that back to the Minister for education and to plead with her to visit the school as soon as possible.

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