Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role, but I am disappointed that the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, is not here to answer in respect of the case of the Holy Family school, as it is one of serious concern. It really upsets me, as it does the families and staff of the Holy Family school in Cootehill, County Cavan, who are watching tonight's discussions, to be here yet again discussing the construction, or lack thereof, at the Holy Family school. We need action, not excuses. There are 168 students with special needs from across counties Cavan and Monaghan attending this school. It is the only school of its type in the area. It provides much needed education for pupils and students with disabilities, but currently they are in substandard learning and working conditions. While the school continues to do exemplary work, it simply does not have the proper facilities or resources to cater for all of the pupils' critical needs. These students have everything stacked against them in life and it is simply not fair to expect them, their teachers or their parents to continue to work in the current facility. The project to provide additional permanent accommodation must be progressed without any further delays for the sake of the children, the parents and the staff.

In 2015, the Department of Education and Skills gave the project relating to the Holy Family school in Cootehill full approval for funding. However, there have been many delays and now, in 2017, there is still no new school. I understand that the school submitted the relevant documentation on the stage 2b submission to the Department in April only to be notified five weeks later that it is not in the right order. Is this Government seriously delaying the construction because the information the Department requires is not in the preferred order?

As part of the new build, the school and the prefabs will have to be moved to temporary accommodation, the site of which was secured in June 2016. The Department of Education and Skills has been paying rent for that site for the past 12 months but nothing has happened. Planning permission for the school was granted in 2013 but, to date, it has not been able to proceed. If this continues, the school will have to get an extension of the planning permission. Children are suffering. Their safety, health and education are at risk each and every day that the construction is postponed. Being the only school of its type in counties Cavan and Monaghan, the Holy Family school is and should be a high priority as it accommodates a significant number of students with disabilities. In September, the school will have 48 children with moderate disabilities, 13 with multiple disabilities, 39 with severe and profound disabilities, and 68 with autism spectrum disorder, ASD.

During the past 15 years - it has taken this long to get through the planning process - the number of students in the school has increased. This means trying to accommodate more pupils in already cramped conditions. In 2013, the school had 129 pupils enrolled; now it is up to 168. The school has seen an increase of 11 staff members in the same years. Despite this growth, the school facilities remain in substandard condition and it is completely inadequate as an educational facility. The Holy Family school main building was opened in 1973 and it is really starting to show its age. There are leaks in many of the junior classrooms, the roof is constantly being patched up, some of the ceilings are leaking and the walls are black. There are wooden laths holding up the ceiling and mould growing down the walls. The toilets, bathing area and plumbing system are creaking at the seams. Besides this, there are inadequate parking facilities, forcing the staff to park on the road outside the homes of the neighbouring houses, causing chaos.

Enough is enough. We need a commitment and a guarantee right here right now from the Minister of State as to when the work will commence. Stop the bureaucratic nonsense that files are not in the preferred order.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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7 o’clock

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, sends his apologies that he cannot be present for this discussion. I am happy to replace him because this is a subject close to my heart. A few members of my extended family are in similar schools in County Kilkenny.

The Minister thanks the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides an opportunity to outline the current position of Holy Family special school, Cootehill. The school is a multi-denominational, coeducational special needs school that caters for pupils aged four to 18 years with moderate or profound learning difficulties and students with autism. This project is included in the six-year programme announced on 17 November 2015 to go to tender and construction. The original brief was to provide a 21-classroom school. Following a meeting with the Department of Education and Skills in December 2015, the school and its design team were authorised to increase the scale of the project to deliver a new 26-classroom school. On 18 November 2016 the design team submitted a stage 2a addendum report to the Department for review. The review was completed by the end of January 2017 and the board of management and its design team were authorised to complete stage 2b, the developed design stage. This stage includes obtaining planning permission, a fire safety certificate and a disability access certificate. All statutory approvals have now been secured for the project.

Construction will require moving the existing school to temporary accommodation on a nearby site. The move will be an integral part of the school building project and will form part of the main contract. Planning permission for moving accommodation was secured in August 2016. The fire certificate and disability access certificate were subsequently secured and the Department has authorised the signing of a lease by the school to secure the movement to the other site. The stage 2b detailed design report was recently submitted to the Department by the board of management and its design team. Following receipt of that submission, the Department authorised the board of management to instruct its design team to commence the pre-qualification process for the assessment of suitably qualified contractors to which the project can be tendered. This authorisation was granted by the Department in order to expedite the tender process for this project by running the pre-qualification in tandem with the finalisation of stage 2b. The design team has commenced this process and the closing date for the e-tenders advertisement was 19 June 2017. Following examination of the stage 2b report, some additional items have been requested by the Department, not just in terms of the order in which they were put in. Additional items were requested. A revised submission has recently been received by the Department. Upon review of the revised submission, the Department will revert to the board of management with regard to the further progression of the project at that time.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I accept what the Minister of State has said but for a review to take five weeks and then be sent back to a board of management or school is an issue. I accept the Minister of State's bona fides to the effect that it is more than just labelling. I have read the document and the reply. The main thrust of it is labelling and how it is presented. There is not much about additional information. My concern is that it will take another five weeks to decide whether it is right. As a result of the increasing numbers attending Holy Family, the school is bursting at the seams and now is located at two sites. The Holy Family school was built with seven classrooms, although we now have seven classes squeezed into the existing building, with five prefabs on the grounds, and seven classes located at the White Star, which was formerly a hostel. The hostel is on the main street in Cootehill, far removed from the main building. It is not fair for these students to be asked to conduct classes and be educated in a building that was formerly a hostel. In order to make the best of an extremely appalling situation, they have now converted available space, such as the PE room and their small therapy rooms, to classrooms. As a result of the necessary alterations to the school, there is no space for visiting therapists. There is not even space to give children time-outs, a regular occurrence in a school like the Holy Family school. Apart from the main building itself, the senior school is in rented accommodation on the main street in Cootehill far away from the main building. It was formerly a hostel. In September there will be seven classrooms housed over three storeys with a total of 58 pupils and 22 staff crammed into every nook and cranny. These conditions are outrageous and appalling. The Holy Family school does not want to have to introduce waiting lists for the first time in its history. As the facilities are not able to accommodate all the children at present, undesirable measures might be taken in September and children might have to go onto a waiting list.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. She obviously feels passionately about the issue. I have been a Member of the Oireachtas for 15 years. The answer to this Topical Issue matter is positive news in the sense that the revised submission was received by the Department on 28 June. At a previous stage, it took six weeks for the request to be made. I am told the average time is between ten and 12 weeks so it is moving faster in this instance than it does in the average case. In terms of the accommodation on the main street in Cootehill, which is a town I know a little, it is a temporary measure until the building is constructed. At this stage-----

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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It is a temporary, unsafe building for them to be in.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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If it is fire certified, which it is, and has planning permission-----

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I do not know how the school is even certified.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Those are the necessary requirements it has to have. It is a temporary provision of accommodation until the school is built. This is progressing quite well. I accept the Deputy's point about the five weeks but I hope that in the ten to 12-week period there will be a positive response to it. I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Bruton.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to be back here talking about this again.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I understand