Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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A new school is due to open in Ballincollig in September. This is less than five months from now, which means time is short. Parents are concerned by what they consider to be a lack of certainty and progress on the school. I have repeatedly raised this issue and pressed the Department and Minister to progress the matter. I understand the Minister has on his desk sufficient information to make a decision on who will be the patron of the school. Will he identify the patron to allow it to proceed with the establishment of the school?

In recognition of population growth in Ballincollig in recent years, a new school was announced in November 2015. In September 2015, 448 children enrolled in the town's schools, one of which accepted 94 children and refused almost as many again. Despite this, the next step in the process was not taken until one year later, in November 2016, when expressions of interest were invited to potential patrons. Three patron groups submitted applications by 6 January 2017 and the new school establishment group has been reviewing these submissions in the intervening months. In response to a question I asked the Minister in late February, he indicated a decision on patronage was due within weeks. One month later, a decision has not been made and the school is due to open in less than five months. A great deal of work must be done before September. Staff must be hired and an open and transparent hiring process will add a number of weeks to the process. The building must be finished and enrolments taken, which mean the timetable is very tight.

The position in Ballincollig contrasts strongly with the position of the fourth school in the same school bundle, which is located in south central Dublin. The Dublin school will have 18 months to do the same work as the school in Ballincollig. The new school establishment group has made a recommendation, which is on the Minister's desk. Will he release the name of the patron and allow the patron to establish the school? Locals are concerned and have been outlining their concerns when they call into my office in Ballincollig or meet me on the street.

They are asking what is the story with the school and whether there will be a place for their child in September, which is less than five months away. If they have expressed interest in another patron that is not approved, will there be a place for them in the new school?

The school is only taking in one junior infants class. What happens if there is more demand than that? If a second class is required, will provision be made? What will happen regarding children with special educational needs? The Department is currently amending the way in which support for them is allocated. How will SNA supports be allocated for the new school in Ballincollig? Will it be done using the old model or via the new model using a baseline and profile of the area? Given the tight timeframe, it is expected a temporary building will be in use from September. How long with the children be in this building and what facilities will be available to them? Will there be playgrounds, green areas and so on? How soon will the new eight classroom permanent school be built and occupied? These are realistic questions that are concerning for parents and they cannot approach a school authority to get answers.

The New Schools Establishment Group, NSEG, has been reviewing the bundle of four schools for the past three months. Three submissions were made regarding Ballincollig. They have been reviewed and are on the Minister's desk. Can he release the Ballincollig decision in order that the school can be developed? That would clear up much of the uncertainty that is troubling parents. It would mean the patron could finalise the details of the school building and offer places to children and it would mean parents would know where they stand. There are less than five months remaining for the school to be opened and parents have numerous concerns. I have repeatedly raised the issue with the Minister through parliamentary questions and directly with the Department. Can he release the name of the patron for the new school in Ballincollig and let it get on with establishing the new school?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As he rightly recognised, my Department conducted a study of the demographic pressures throughout the country and indicated that four new primary schools and nine new post-primary schools were justified. Under the procedure operated within my Department, when it is identified that there is a demographic need, the Department runs a patronage process to decide who will operate the school. The criteria used in respect of patronage of the new school place particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage, with parental preferences from the area to be served being central to the process. In this regard, patrons and prospective patrons must collect and demonstrate evidence of parental demand from the area to be served for the model of provision proposed as part of their application under the process. My Department invited applications for the patronage last November and that closed for applications in January. The assessment stage of the process is rigorous and detailed and it has go through all the applications, identify whether they are within the catchment and so on.

Once completed, draft assessment reports will be forwarded for the consideration of the NSEG, which is an external independent advisory group set up to oversee the process. Contrary to what the Deputy said, the report has not arrived on my desk. Following its consideration, the NSEG will submit a report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision. I will then announce who the successful patron of each of the four schools will be. The assessment reports and the NSEG recommendations will be available on my Department's website following the announcement.

I reassure the Deputy that care has to be taken in these matters because when there is a competition between different patrons, it has to be conducted in a fair and balanced way and, therefore, the time has to be taken to do that. I recognise the concerns of parents regarding the delay. However, the memorandum of understanding between my Department and the County and City Managers' Association helps us to identify sites for educational use. My Department has been working closely with Cork County Council towards acquiring a permanent site to meet the needs of the new primary school for Ballincollig. A number of potentially suitable sites were identified and were comprehensively technically assessed. Further consideration is now being given to a preferred site option with a view to advancing the acquisition process.

Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally, the Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position to comment further at this time. Officials from my Department will be in contact with the relevant school authorities to inform them of the permanent location for the school once the site acquisition process has been completed. A project for the new primary school is included in my Department's six-year capital programme. Once a site is acquired, my Department will make the necessary arrangements to advance the school project concerned into architectural planning with a view to progressing the project to tender and construction during the period 2019-21, as outlined in the programme. In the meantime the school will open in September 2017 in suitable interim temporary accommodation.

With regard to the issue of special education needs and how SNA allocations will be made to the school, I will revert to the Deputy as that was not covered in the briefing material, given it is a new enrolment.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Less than five months remain until the school opens in September. It is disappointing that the name of the patron will not be released as quickly as we had hoped. When I tabled a parliamentary question on this in late February, the Minister indicated that an announcement was only a matter of weeks away. He will understand that this is concerning for parents who are left in a limbo not knowing whether their children will have a school place or what the position will be next September. I outlined a number of the parents' concerns in my initial contribution and I seek clarification again. How long it is expected the children will be in the temporary building? If the demand is greater than more than one class, will a second class be provided? If parents have expressed an interest in one of the patrons that is not successful, where do they stand in respect of the other patrons if they are selected?

The special educational needs issue is important. Under the new allocation model, the school will not have a baseline or latest history or any social context as it is starting out new. This issue needs to be addressed upfront. The fact that it was not part of the briefing for a new school is further concerning. It should have been a matter for priority when there were a small number of schools in this bundle. There are only four schools in the bundle that is being reviewed. There were numerous submissions for the other three schools but there were only three for Ballincollig. Can the name of the patron of the Ballincollig school be released in advance if decisions on any of the other schools are holding back such an announcement? If a decision is ready to go on it and the decisions on the other schools are holding it back, can the Minister release the Ballincollig decision?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Generally, when a new school is advertised, the scale of the intake envisaged is indicated. The Department issued an indication of the scale of the school such as an eight classroom, one class intake. It is not envisaged that it would deviate from that arrangement because the scale of the school is based on the identified demographic need. The Department would have established the need based on the catchment area and designated the scale of the school that was needed. The successful patron will decide the admissions policy. As in all cases, the Department has a broad framework relating to admissions but it is up to the patron to adopt the specific admissions policy. That has no doubt been a factor in the choice of parents.

With regard to enrolment and whether special education needs provision will be required by any of the children, that cannot be anticipated until we know the children enrolled in the school but there may be information available when enrolment is confirmed from preschool experience or other data sources the Department uses and I will revert to the Deputy in respect of that. I assure him that if there is scope to release the name of the patron, I will do so.

No report has come from the group to me recommending which of the three groups who applied to be patron of this school have been successful based on parental preferences.