Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The building of a new secondary school in the town of Kells is an extremely important issue for the town and the surrounding communities. The local community supports the building of a new school but wants it to be completed as soon as possible. It is equally important that the right site is chosen and the future and current needs are met.

I and my colleague, Deputy Hannigan, other local Deputies, the town council and the local area councillors have raised concerns about the Cavan Road site. We think that the Navan Road site would be a better long-term solution. The Kells development plan recently zoned two suitable sites but it is my view and that of my colleagues that every effort should be made to develop the school on the community zoned land adjacent to the existing school campus on the Navan Road. The site on the Cavan Road is approximately 9.5 acres but it is landlocked by a supermarket on one side, a business on the other and a residence on another making it impossible to expand it for future needs. On the Navan Road site there are 12 acres adjacent to the existing school and the landowner has confirmed willingness to carry out a land swap which could be completed within a short timeframe. The site would also allow for future expansion, which is extremely important. It has been acknowledged that approximately 240 m of new road would be needed for this area but that land is available free of charge to the Department of Education and Skills should it decide to go with this site.

From a traffic management point of view the Navan Road site is much better for car-sharing. Parents would not have to make two journeys up and down the town. There are amenities next to the site, a swimming pool and playing fields. Many of the facilities there serve the schools that are there already and it would be detrimental to put the school at the other end of town. The Department needs to conduct a full assessment and comparison of the costs of the overall projects, including the possibility of having to carry out the works on the Cavan Road. The town council and Meath County Council have unanimously adopted motions asking the Department to carry out proper assessments on both sites. I ask the Minister to consider that today.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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The people of Kells fully support the proposal to build a new secondary school. The issue is the location of the school. There are two sites, one on the Cavan Road at the north end of the town and one on the Navan Road at the south end of the town. The Kells development plan has zoned both sites for the purposes of building a new school. The important thing for us is that the right site is chosen. We have already spoken about this to the Minister for Education and Skills. I have visited both sites and walked up and down the fields as they are now. I share the concerns of many residents of the town. The Navan Road site is much closer to the new housing developments where the children are growing up. That site would enable them to walk and cycle to school in safety. It would also make it easier for parents to drop their children to school. It is closer to the existing school campuses where, as my colleague outlined, there is a swimming pool and sports pitches. There is in effect a campus there waiting for this new school.

I have spoken to many Kells residents about the school. They are perplexed and wonder why the Department would consider putting a school on the Cavan Road at the north end of town. People do not understand it. They are not particularly happy about it. When we spoke about this in the past the Minister told me that he needed to see some sort of consensus on behalf of the town councillors. We went to the town councillors and across the parties they have put forward a motion asking the Department to put the site on the Navan Road site as opposed to the Cavan Road site. I think a copy of that motion was sent to the Minister.

I understand that there were some land-locking issues but they have been resolved because the landowners will give permission for any access road to be built. Today we want the Minister to give a commitment that a review will be carried out of the merits of both sites. We do not want to see favouritism towards any particular site. We are simply concerned that we get the best site and we believe that is the Navan Road site.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. As both Deputies said, I am familiar with the issue. It has been brought to my attention. I thank both Deputies for outlining the situation and indicating that there is a great deal of concern about the location of this school.

The new school building will see some 800 students benefit from state of the art classrooms and facilities. Eureka secondary school, along with all the other schools included in bundle 5, which is part of the public private partnership, PPP, process, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. It is envisaged that construction of this bundle of school projects will begin approximately 18 months prior to this target completion date. The delivery of this school through the PPP process is being carried out with the assistance of the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA.

The Deputies are aware that a site in Kells was acquired by my Department in 2007. This site is considered suitable for the development of the planned post-primary school and on this basis the project for Eureka secondary school was included for delivery under the PPP schools bundle 5. In that respect, work has already begun on the design of these schools and site investigations are scheduled to take place shortly. As part of the recent review of the Kells Development Plan 2013-2019, the members of the local authority approved a request from my Department to rezone the land to provide for community infrastructure, which includes educational facilities. The site is in the Department's ownership.

Ongoing representations, which have been repeated here today and to which I am listening carefully, have been made to my Department regarding the alternative site zoned in Kells for educational provision. Leaving aside that this site is not in the Department's ownership, although there have been clear indications that ownership could be available on the basis of a land swap, as I understand is the case with any proper accommodation to our benefit, several factors need to be taken into account. These include technical feasibility, associated development costs and implications for timely delivery of the project.

As part of the preliminary work to progress the PPP project, preparation of planning and surveys has commenced. This preliminary work will indicate whether any significant additional development costs are likely to be incurred in respect of the existing site in the Department's ownership. These facts will also inform the decision process. The Department will take all relevant factors into account when considering the outcome of this preliminary work, with a view to ensuring that the best interests of the taxpayer and the school community are served. I have heard very clearly, not for the first time, that it is the wish of the representatives in the area, and I am reliably informed, of parents and school communities, to have a consolidated education campus. We have some time in which to examine this particular site to see if what the two Deputies have said actually stands up. Without prejudice to any final decision I will undertake to expedite that so there will be some degree of certainty.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. There are technical issues that have to be addressed, such as costs and timely delivery. The fact that the landowner is willing to do a land swap and this could be completed within a short timeframe, under three months, would significantly speed up the process. A full review of both sites would be very worthwhile and will make clear what has been said.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply, which we welcome, along with his commitment to consider this proposal. I welcome his saying that he will study the additional development costs. Within the programme for Government we have committed to examining cost-benefit analyses. I expect that these development costs will not be financial only but will include social costs, such as journey time costs for parents to bring the kids to the other side of town, the additional traffic management costs and congestion costs. These should all form part of this appraisal when the Minister carries out this review. I thank the Minister for giving us his time and I look forward to a positive outcome.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I welcome the fact that this matter has been raised again. Several Deputies have raised it on different occasions. We have a degree of clarity now about the choice between the two sites. Without prejudice to any final decision there should be a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis in the totality of the terms outlined by both Deputies. This should be done as quickly as possible in order not to delay the project and to ensure that the 800 pupils are accommodated by 2016. I will report back to all the Deputies in the constituency on this matter.