Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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123. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department's involvement in the process of constructing an access road to a planned school (details supplied) in Dublin 15; the resulting delay in the opening of this new school building; if this will result in students continuing to travel to temporary off-site accommodation; her views on the impact this delay is having on the much-needed sports pitches and facilities for the Tyrrelstown community; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34032/15]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Will the Minister make a statement on behalf of the Department on the bizarre situation of a secondary school for a very large area in west Dublin - Tyrrelstown - which has been delayed? It seems the Department of Education and Skills has not been able to sort out issues relating to the provision of an access road which means children may be bussed out of the area for another year.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the building project in question is to provide a new 1,000-pupil secondary school in Tyrrelstown, which includes an all-weather playing pitch for school and community use. Planning permission has been secured and a tender process to appoint a building contractor is at an advanced stage. As the Deputy said, the project requires the construction of an access road across third party lands to facilitate access to the new school and playing pitch from the existing public road and roundabout. As such, the road is an important part of the project. My Department has been in discussions with the relevant parties regarding the legal agreements required for the construction of this road and it is anticipated that they will be finalised shortly.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Will the Minister of State clarify what he means by "shortly"? This is a burning issue for many parents and families in Tyrrelstown. The area has been badly served by poor and corrupt planning. A decision was made to allow the developer to pay money in lieu of open space and the people of the area have been starved of pitches and community facilities for years. The delay in the school project is not only preventing the school from opening, which is dreadful, but also preventing the local authority from developing pitches. That is because the local authority has a deal with the Department to reuse the topsoil from the school site for the pitches.

Four GAA pitches, two soccer pitches and a cricket pitch are waiting, as is a park that has been promised to residents for many years. Will the school be ready in September 2016?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. I do not know the full history of the application, but the area seems to have been poorly serviced by previous Administrations. The new planning system that has been operating in my Department in recent years is correcting that. The new school will go ahead and the site has been secured. There is a delay with construction of the road, as it lies on third party lands that we do not control. The school is on track to be open for the 2016-17 school year, but we cannot guarantee that until the contractor is on site and work has begun.

The school has been designed and tendered for a phased hand-over. The aim is for phase one to be ready for the 2016-17 school year. I hope that we are on track in that regard. The Department is committed to the interim arrangements, including transport to the other site, until phase one is ready for hand-over. It looks like the project is moving along, but the Deputy must accept that the issue with the access road is outside the Department's control because third parties are involved. She is right, in that the area has been identified as a priority. Everything should be on track for next September.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I am not happy with the level of detail provided by the Minister of State. People are waiting to know whether their children will need to be bused out of the area again to a temporary building in Blanchardstown village. The Department has put the project out to tender and the road is delayed due to land ownership issues. Are those with NAMA or the developer, Twinlite? I have submitted this Priority Question on behalf of a large community in west Dublin. The Minister of State hopes that the school will be ready, but he has not given us any indication beyond the project ticking along nicely. Fingal County Council has given all that it can in terms of sorting out the planning permission issues. The Department has not fulfilled its role. Two other primary schools, Tyrrelstown Educate Together and St. Luke's Mulhuddart national school, are impacted. This is a disgraceful and unsafe situation. Those schools must access an inadequate road. Until the Department builds this road, those parents will suffer. Children have already been injured. I have been attempting to sort this issue out for many years. and I ask the Minister of State to please sort out the mess that was made in Tyrrelstown. Its large community needs assistance. Pull out whatever stops are necessary.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I was clear. I cannot give the Deputy anything more than the truth, which is what I did. We hope-----

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister of State said nothing.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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What does the Deputy mean by "nothing"?

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister of State gave no details.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The tender is signed for the school to be built on a phased basis.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Is it down to NAMA?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Department is building a school and an access road. We are not in total control of the site for the latter. It looks like that matter will be finalised shortly. I cannot say when, as it is a legal agreement that must be finalised. Waving a magic wand to sort it out overnight is not in our gift. We are doing all that we can. It looks like the school has progressed and is on track to be open for the 2016-17 year. The tenders are signed. The Department has prioritised this project and pushed it as much as it can, but I cannot answer for problems with bad planning that go back years. I was not a councillor in the area. The Department has sorted out a difficulty, leaving the legal agreements to be finalised, but those are not totally in our control. I can say no more. It seems like the project is close to being finalised, after which it can proceed to construction. It has gone through every other phase. Nothing else is holding it back. This is the best that I can give the Deputy. She is not happy with it, but it is the truth. I hope that the project will move quickly, but she knows that, when it comes to legal arrangements, I cannot say whether they will be agreed tomorrow, next week or later.