Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for agreeing to my request to discuss St. Mary’s girls' national school, Lucan tonight in Dáil Éireann. I also thank the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for attending.

I have been living in Lucan for approximately 30 years, and in very close proximity to one of the finest schools in Ireland, namely, St. Mary's girls' national school, also known as Scoil Mhuire, which is in the process of being denied its promised and long overdue building refurbishment works that have been progressing through all the stages of the procedure for many years. When the school was finally included in the schools stimulus package 2013, there appeared to be some glimmer of light, and for a number of years St. Mary's navigated its way through the protracted planning process. When I met the school principal, Mrs. Mary McIvor, before Christmas, she was pleased to confirm to me that building was scheduled to begin in February 2016, just a few short weeks away, and to conclude in late autumn 2016.

Last Thursday the entire project and all of the works undertaken, such as the inclusion in the schools stimulus package and the steady progress through the planning process, was thrown up in the air. The principal was told by officials in the Department that it has emerged that there is a competition for resources between one school and another or others and that the promised funding may not now be forthcoming. That is nothing short of disgraceful. We have told the people that things are better and that we have the fastest growing economy in Europe, yet we deny our children the basics in this school. The children have been advised through their parents to wear warm clothes because much of the heating system is no longer working. The building is in an unacceptable level of maintenance. In addition to the heating system not working, prefabs are still in place, windows are leaking and new and more acceptable bathroom facilities are required with drying facilities. The new build will solve all those ills and bring an end to the altogether unacceptable working environment for the children and staff alike. The school has never even benefited from additional and necessary works. In spite of that and the best efforts of departmental officials to cause confusion if not deny the vital capital works, Scoil Mhuire, St. Mary's girls' national school in Lucan, continues to provide a wonderful educational experience for its 680 children.

When the school principal could not contain this alarming news and felt duty bound to advise the board of management and the parents’ association, many of them contacted me last Thursday evening. I was inundated with e-mails, text messages and phone calls from concerned and, understandably in some cases, angry parents because a departmental official cast doubt over the building project and conveyed the message that funding for the proposed development may not now be available. At this very late stage of the proceedings and in the simplest terms, that is unacceptable. As the local Deputy I am at one with the principal, the board of management, the teaching staff, the parents’ association, the parents and the children - our future - in their anger and upset at setting at nought all of what the Government has said previously.

Tonight in Dáil Éireann, I ask the Minister to provide clarity and certainty on St. Mary's girls' national school, Scoil Mhuire, Lucan, to confirm that the funding is in fact in place for the long outstanding and, by now, very necessary works, and to say when the works on St. Mary’s school will commence. I also thank the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, for coming into the Dáil to support my representations and speech this evening.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Keating for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current position on the major school building project for Scoil Mhuire girls' national school in Lucan.

The Deputy will be aware of the demographic challenge facing the education system in the coming years. Primary enrolments, which have already risen substantially in recent years, are projected to rise by an additional 25,000 pupils by 2017 and they are set to continue to rise, with a likely peak in 2019. To meet the needs of our growing population of school-going children, the Department must establish new schools as well as extending or replacing a number of existing schools in areas where demographic growth has been identified. The delivery of the new schools, together with extension projects to meet future demand, will be the main focus of the Department's budget for the coming years.

The Deputy will also be aware that significant capital funding will be invested in the education system through the Government's capital programme announced on 29 September last.

Over the next six years, €3 billion in direct funding will be invested in the schools capital programme.

The building project at Scoil Mhuire was one of a number of projects included in the investing in infrastructure and jobs stimulus package which, as the Deputy has just said, was announced in June 2013. As part of this announcement, my Department committed to advancing these school projects, including Scoil Mhuire, to completion. The project will provide an extra three classrooms to enhance the school to a 24-classroom facility. Additionally, it will provide major refurbishment to the existing school. This refurbishment element of the project represents a significant and increased investment by the Department and will provide state-of-the-art facilities for close to 700 pupils. The project encountered a number of delays in the course of architectural planning. Scoil Mhuire and St. Joseph's college share the same site which, at 6.18 acres, is very tight. This resulted in the need for additional feasibility studies on the utilisation of the site ahead of the project. In addition, the project also endured the loss of a member of the design team who left the project, adding further delay. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the project was authorised to proceed through the tender process in the course of 2015. The design team's supplementary tender report was submitted to the Department in December 2015 and has been considered by my Department.

I became aware of the issues Deputy Keating refers to. I had a phone call from the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, and contact from Deputy Joanna Tuffy at the weekend. Deputy Keating was also in touch with my office. I am aware of the concerns in the local community. As the Deputy may be aware, in the management of a capital programme, it is necessary to review periodically the scheduling of construction projects within the overall programme. This is a standard procedure, especially at the beginning of the year of the programme. In this context, my Department is conducting an expenditure profiling exercise to determine when projects can advance to site. When the expenditure profiling is complete, the Department will be in contact with Scoil Mhuire on the further progression of the project. I want to alleviate any fear that there is some kind of competition going on between schools - that is not the case. This is a procedure with regard to expenditure profiling and as soon as it is done - it will not take long - we will be in contact with the school.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister sincerely. The issue of schools within the capital programme competing on building was something that was conveyed to me. I have tremendous respect for the Minister. I had tremendous respect and an equally satisfactory working relationship with former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. Anything I say is not personal. This is an extremely sensitive issue and, with the greatest of respect, I am unhappy with the Minister's reply. This had been included for the capital expenditure and many parents will now rightfully ask why, if money was allocated for this building, the money is not there. In recent days I have been chasing around a number of officials for precise information and details on this doubt. One senior official in the Minister's Department, knowing I had been trying to contact him in recent days so I could give information and some clarity to the school, told me in an e-mail very early this morning that he was out of the office on Department business with only limited access to email. He had sent me that e-mail from his phone. This is ridiculous and I see it as an exercise in fobbing off an elected Member.

Leaving that aside, I will ask two questions in the time I have remaining. When will this uncertainty be removed? Given the particular circumstances I have outlined, which the Minister and her Department are aware of because of the history associated with Scoil Mhuire, St Mary's girls' national school in Lucan, what measures will the Department take to ensure priority is given to the school in order that clarity and certainty can be given for these works to begin?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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We are absolutely committed to ensuring the project goes ahead. I assure Deputy Keating - I think he is aware of how the capital programmes work in education - that when something is announced, it is announced on the basis that the capital is provided. That was the case for schools announced in 2013 and it is the case for the schools I announced towards the end of 2015 for the next capital programme. We have a capital allocation for each year of that capital programme and nothing is announced unless the money is there for it. I want to make it quite clear that the money is there for the school. We do not announce unless the money is there. This is not just about one school. There is a profiling exercise carried out in the Department which applies to all schools designated for proceeding in 2016. Those schools will be told as soon as we carry out this exercise and they will be engaged with. We have not gone past the deadline for this particular school. The proposal is that it will go ahead. It is not that it should have gone ahead by now but rather it is to go ahead in the near future. We will be in touch with the school in the near future.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The building was scheduled to start in February 2016, which is in a few weeks time. That was the point.