Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the up-to-date position with regard to approval for a new school for an area (details supplied) in County Donegal; if she will meet a delegation from the school to discuss progress towards a new school building as well as issues with regard to inadequate existing accommodation and road safety concerns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3358/15]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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This relates to a building project for St. Mary's national school in Stranorlar in County Donegal.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As the Deputy is aware, a building project for the school is being progressed within my Department's architectural planning process. I understand that the school's design team and school authority are working on the stage 2(a) report. A stage 2(a) stakeholders meeting will be arranged when the report is finalised. In these circumstances, I do not consider that convening a meeting as proposed would be beneficial at this time.

As the Deputy will also be aware, the school in question is one of a number of schools that it was not possible to include in the five-year construction programme. However, the school project is being progressed to the final planning stages so that it will be well placed for further progression in anticipation of additional funds being available to the Department.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her response. I am disappointed that she will not agree to meet the school to discuss the project's future or to ensure that she is up to speed regarding the school's current facilities and its need for a new building. Unfortunately, approximately half of the school's classrooms consist of prefabs and the permanent classrooms have been in place for so long that they are small and still use school desks with ink wells. That should emphasise the need for an agreement on a new building.

This project was included in the previous school buildings programme.

When the former Minister, Mary Coughlan, was in office it was approved but the former Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, removed it. On that basis, it is all the more important that the current Minister should agree to meet a delegation from the school. I know that the school's representatives have written to the Minister specifically requesting such a meeting. I have already tabled a parliamentary question asking the Minister to agree to meet the delegation. The representatives deserve that and it would also be useful for the Minister to meet with them. I know the school representatives are engaging constructively with departmental officials as well as with the design team working on the site, which has already been secured, to develop it towards planning.

It needs to go back into the schools buildings programme, however, so that funding will be there once planning permission is obtained. That is why it is important to meet the school representatives face to face, particularly as the school has been removed from the list. The Minister should discuss their concerns and the problems they are facing at the moment, with a view to ensuring that the school is placed in a new schools capital programme.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I fully endorse what Deputy McConalogue has said. He has cited an example of the real issues that parents and teachers are facing whereby a school that was in the programme is no longer included. There can be various reasons for that, including planning issues, objections or the length of time involved. As I have said before, the idea of a five-year planning programme needs to be examined. We should also be developing ten and 15-year programmes so that schools know where they stand.

One of the biggest issues concerning school building programmes is that when a number of sites have been identified, it goes to planning stage and then objections are lodged, which delay matters. Sometimes it goes to An Bord Pleanála but these issues need to be dealt with. I recall that at a previous committee meeting, the Minister said that planning laws were being examined with a view to fast-tracking such proposals, without obviously compromising the planning system. Does the Minister have any further updates on that?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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On the Donegal school, I understand that the design team is finalising the stage two report. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for me to meet the school representatives until they have finalised that and given it to the Department. There will certainly be stakeholders' meetings but at this stage I do not think there is any point in me meeting them because the ball is in their court in terms of coming back on the design.

On the more general issue, I was opposition spokesperson on education in the past when the former Minister, Noel Dempsey, was in office. There was a long list of various stages that schools had reached and they could spend years in the early stages before moving up. It is felt that was less clear than what is in place at the moment. Currently, there is a five-year programme and schools know whether they are in it. Therefore, they have more certainty about how quickly they will proceed.

We are now working on the next five-year programme which is due to commence next year. In that context, we could have a discussion on whether we should give more information than what is in the five-year programme. However, we can only commit in terms of the capital envelope which we only get for five years. I do not want to mislead schools by putting them into a list which does not indicate that anything will happen.

As regards the planning issue, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, is responsible for that area. I have engaged with him concerning it. We want to keep the planning process absolutely transparent, as it should be. However, there is a case for avoiding unnecessary delays in the case of schools which are in the public interest. Those discussions are ongoing.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister mentioned giving certainty to school building plans. Unfortunately, however, the uncertainty facing St. Mary's national school in Stranorlar is that it is not on the current five-year building programme which runs until the end of the year. As the Minister rightly indicated, the Department will be examining the following five-year programme. That is why it is important for the Minister to meet the schools' representatives directly, particularly in light of the fact that they were on the previous programme but have been dropped from the current one. They deserve to have such a meeting, although I know they have already had meetings with departmental officials.

In addition, the meetings which normally occur to progress matters will also take place over the coming period. I am not asking the Minister to become involved in the architectural process or to make an input in respect of the plans but I am of the view that it would be entirely appropriate for her to meet the people involved directly. The principal at the school, Mr. Fintan Keating, his staff and the board of management have done great work in the context of the facilities there. Understandably, however, there has been much disappointment with regard to the fact that there is not much certainty regarding this matter at present. There are concerns with regard to whether, once the planning process has been completed and the project approved, the necessary funding will be available.

Other school building projects are far less advanced in the context of the planning and design processes than that to which I refer. However, the school in question is not included in the schools building programme. It is in that context that those involved with the school would like to meet the Minister. The school is located on the main arterial route between north and south Donegal and, in light of traffic volumes, parents have very real concerns about their children getting to school safely each morning. It is important that the Minister should recognise that fact. She and her Department will be putting the new schools building programme together and it is in that context that I ask her to reconsider her decision and meet a delegation from the school. I assure the Minister that I will continue to work with her on this matter and that I will also continue to raise it. The school in question needs a new building and I am of the view that it must be given top priority when the new building programme is drawn up.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I reiterate that it would not be appropriate for me to meet a delegation while the design process is still in train. I am sure Deputy McConalogue will raise the matter again when that process has been completed.

The next school building programme is to commence in 2016. We are working on drawing up that programme at present. There are some schools with building projects that are ready to proceed. If we obtain funding in advance of the allocation for the new five-year programme, we will certainly consider the possibility of allowing such projects to proceed even if the schools involved are not included in the programme. If these projects are ready to proceed and if we have funding available which is not required for projects that are included in the current programme, I do not see any reason the former should not move ahead.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As Deputy Coppinger is not present, Question No. 121 in her name cannot be taken.