Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter and I thank the Minister for attending to reply. A decision by the building unit on a school building for Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille is critical if a repeat of the entire tendering process is to be avoided. The gaelscoil is situated in an area that has experienced significant population growth over the past 15 years and the growth rate has accelerated over the past five years. The area is characterised by the number of cranes in its skyline. It was the subject of a local area plan by the county council and the need for local schools in a timely manner was identified. In this instance, while the forward planning took place, there has been a failure to deliver.

I attended the opening of the gaelscoil in the De La Salle Palmerstown rugby clubhouse when I served as cathaoirleach of South Dublin County Council in 1995-96. The parents, teachers and pupils have waited for a permanent home for 12 years and many of the children who attended the school when it first opened are well into their secondary schooling having spent their primary schooling in cramped prefabs. Eight classes operate in conditions so cramped that one of the teachers can never wear a skirt to school because she must jump over desks to reach some of the children.

The board of management has gone through the planning, architectural and design phases and not alone has the construction tendering process been completed but the contractor has been selected and the contract awarded. Technically, under the contract the contractor will no longer be obliged to build the school at the quoted price if sanction is not given by the Department by the end of the month. While there may be flexibility in this regard, the deadline is too close for comfort and there is serious unease among all concerned that the sanction, which was felt to be a matter of form, will not be forthcoming. The parents and teachers were overjoyed when they received the go-ahead to invite tenders for the construction of the school and they are bitterly disappointed that they probably will not be in the new school by next September, as they had anticipated.

They are shocked because it is highly unusual for a project to reach the final stage and have the funding withheld with the contractor ready to go. I assume the sanction will eventually be granted but it will make no difference to the Minister or the national finances if the go-ahead is given this month, next month or in January. It would make a major difference to the gaelscoil because, at best, the teachers and pupils would not be in their new school by September 2008 and, at worst, if the administrators had to go through the tendering process again, they would be lucky to be in by 2009. The finance was promised and it was reasonably assumed it would be forthcoming. I ask the Minister to give sanction for this.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the opportunity of outlining to this House my Department's position regarding the provision of a new school premises for Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille, Cill Tiarnáin. The proposed project involves the construction of a new two-storey, 16-classroom generic repeat design school. Planning permission and a fire certificate has been obtained and the tender report for the project is being examined by the Department's building unit.

Under the national development plan, €4.5 billion was assigned to the capital requirements of the primary and post-primary sectors. More than €540 million will be spent this year on school buildings. The level of construction alone in the primary and post-primary sectors in 2007 is such that it will deliver more than 700 classrooms to provide permanent accommodation for approximately 17,500 pupils. The progression of all large scale building projects from initial design stage through to construction phase is considered on an ongoing basis in the context of my Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme in which the main focus is to deliver school places within rapidly developing areas. The progression of the school referred to by the Deputy, as is the case with all large scale projects, will be considered in this context. I assure the Deputy I am committed to providing suitable high quality accommodation for Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille at the earliest date.