Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle as this is an issue close to my heart. Star of the Sea primary school resulted from an amalgamation of Scoil Colmcille and St. Mary's national school some years ago. I am a past pupil of the school, with many happy memories of my years there.

In 1999 the then Minister for Education and Science sanctioned, in good faith, a new school building for Star of the Sea. At the time, provision of a new school building was central to securing the agreement of both schools to amalgamate and become Star of the Sea. Since 1999 the project has been bogged down in delays. Difficulties in securing a suitable site delayed the project for a number of years and it was not until 2005 that the Department of Education and Science purchased a greenfield site from Cork County Council with the agreement of Passage West soccer club, which had the use of the lands at the time. In November 2006 the school was included on the Department's building programme for the first time and was approved to proceed to the architectural planning stage. At that stage, we hoped the battle for a new school was coming to an end.

The following month, in December 2006, representatives of the school met officials from the planning and building unit of the Department and were advised that the generic design method would be used and that the architectural planning and design team would be in place by April 2007. For the following nine months nothing happened. The project went out to tender for a design team in autumn 2007 with a closing date for submission of tenders of 15 October.

For the past number of months I, and people at the school, have been trying to establish the position regarding the appointment of the design team. Every inquiry elicits the same response — that the appointment is at an advanced stage. It is now the middle of February 2008 and the design team has not been appointed. I cannot understand how it takes more than 14 months to appoint a design team for a straightforward project where a generic design is being used. Along with everyone associated with the project, I am frustrated by the lack of progress.

The school has 311 pupils enrolled, to increase to 450 in the next few years. Two junior infant classes are now being taken in every year and, within a few years, the school will expand to a 16-classroom school. The Department accepts these figures as correct.

The current site, comprising the residual building from the old St. Colmcille boys' school and a prefab complex, is woefully inadequate for the needs of Star of the Sea in 2008. The former playground is now a car park, the assembly area is now a classroom and the green area where we played football when I attended the school is now taken up by the prefab complex. At least three more prefabs are required in the next year. A learning support teacher is using a makeshift computer room to teach children with special needs. The classrooms and prefabs are cramped and overcrowded and do not have in-class toilet facilities. All children must leave the classroom for the toilet and many must leave the building, depending on the part of the site their class is in.

The Department of Education and Science is prioritising rapidly expanding areas where there are issues with school capacity. Passage West is one of those. It is experiencing major residential development and the current school site does not have the capacity to cater for the numbers coming through. For example, a single development now under way in Passage West will deliver more than 600 residential units in the coming years and planning has been secured from Cork County Council for a further 400 units. People want to come and live in Passage West and it is our duty to ensure there is a place available at a school where their children can learn in a safe, modern educational environment.

I plead with the Minister to appoint the design team without further delay and to ensure Star of the Sea is included in the next announcement of projects approved to go to construction. I acknowledge the immense efforts of the school principal, Mr. Brendan McCormack, the staff, the parents association, the board of management and the local parish as patron organisation. All of these have worked tirelessly to get the new school the children deserve and which was promised nine years ago. They have my continued support and I look forward to the reply of the Minister of State.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline the Department's position regarding the provision of a new primary school building for Passage West. It is proposed to build a new 16-classroom generic repeat design school, including a general purpose hall and ancillary accommodation, on a greenfield site. The process of appointing a design team to the school building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage. I note the Deputy's desire to have the team appointed as quickly as possible.

Under the national development plan, €4.5 billion is assigned to the capital requirements of the primary and post-primary schools. Approximately €600 million will be spent this year on school buildings. 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 the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme in which the main focus is to deliver school places within rapidly developing areas.

I note the Deputy's comments about Passage West being a rapidly developing area and his reference to the number of residential units to be built there. The progression of a new primary school at Passage West, as with all large-scale projects, will be considered in this context. I assure Deputy McGrath that the Minister and the Department are committed to providing suitable high quality accommodation for the school in Passage West at the earliest possible date. I assure him I will bring his strong views to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin. I note Deputy McGrath's comments about the additional residential units, which will have a direct relationship with the enrolment projections.