John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that the Minister for Education and Skills has attended to take this Topical Issue debate. As he knows, the case of Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna in Knocklyon in my constituency of Dublin South-West dates back more than 20 years. I was elected as a councillor in 1999. A few years later, the question of a permanent site and school became a live issue. Scandalously, the complex and tedious transfer of title - I was involved in that as a councillor - has taken close to 15 years to resolve. To put it in context, four chief executives of South Dublin County Council passed through office in that time.

It is important to state that the issue of title is not the Department's fault. Until recently, the Department was reasonably powerless to advance the project of a state-of-the-art school for the pupils of Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna. The complex work has been handled, though.

I invite the Minister to visit the existing school and see the conditions in which its pupils, teachers and ancillary staff are housed. It is a tribute and testament to the commitment and vocation of the school's teachers and other staff that education of the highest standard is offered at Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna. They have operated out of prefabs for 21 years. They have had to repair roofs and ceilings as a result of fungal infections. The school has 245 pupils and a toilet facility is shared between 60 of them. As the Minister will have heard in media reports, the water tank freezes in winter, which means that there are no proper bathroom facilities for children. Rain means that no physical education can take place.

In 2015, the Government stated that no school would have a prefab for more than two years. Given that a quarter of schools that were due for construction in 2015 are still waiting for work to begin or their projects to go to tender, will the Minister consider fast-tracking this school project as a matter of urgency? In the intervening 15 or 20 years, the building projects at every school within a few square miles of Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna have been completed or are under way. St. Colmcille's, the local community school, has been built and expanded. Sancta Maria College, a local post-primary school, got a brand new building in that time. St. Colmcille's junior and senior national schools, the largest primary school project in the country, were finished some years ago. Firhouse Educate Together got a new school building and the new building for Gaelscoil na Giúise, which arrived on the scene many years after Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, is under construction.

Gaelcoláiste na Phiarsaigh, a post-primary school, has been facilitated locally also and the sod has recently turned at Kingswood community school. The Department is also looking out for a school for Firhouse Educate Together post-primary school and has advanced school projects in Citywest. Does the Minister agree that the almost unique circumstances surrounding the wait for the commencement of this building project, including design and planning, means the process of commencing the project for a new school should start immediately? Will he commit to prioritising the advancement of the school project to ensure that a school of 21st century standards will be constructed as soon as possible and that the project commencement process will start as soon as he can make it happen?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lahart for raising this. He has more than eloquently outlined the history of Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, which has been on the Department's six year programme. As he outlined, the Department has been working with South Dublin County Council to acquire the site on which it is currently located in temporary accommodation in order to facilitate the permanent building. Agreement in principle in respect of the proposed acquisition was reached in 2006 and a section 183 disposal to the Department of Education and Skills was approved by South Dublin County Council in February 2007. However, there were title issues with a small portion of the property which needed to be rectified by the council in order for the project to progress. Council officials endeavoured to rectify the title issues on this portion of land over a number of years in order to enable the disposal of the full site. In order to rectify the matter, the council proceeded with a compulsory purchase order process to allow the side acquisition to progress. The order was confirmed in May 2016 and a vesting order was subsequently made, with the land vesting in South Dublin County Council at the end of June 2017. The local authority was then in a position to commence the conveyancing process to convey the site to the Department. Draft contracts in respect of the transfer were received in September and my officials have been liaising with local authority officials with a view to advancing matters since then. While due diligence must apply in relation to the legal site transfer, the Department is not aware of any specific issues at this time which would impede the site acquisition.

It is intended to progress the project to architectural planning shortly, with a view to running the design stage in parallel with the completion of the conveyancing process. My Department is working to ensure that a new building for Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna is delivered as soon as possible. Running the design work in parallel will ensure there is no unnecessary delay from now on.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome those initial comments and the Minister's confirmation that the project will proceed to architectural planning and design stage. Can he provide me with a date as to when the architectural design stage will begin or, if he cannot commit to one now, come back to me in writing? I would be very grateful if he could.

Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable and continues to be a scandal that children are educated in substandard conditions? Does he agree that it is in the interests of justice that every effort is made to fast-track this? I ask if the Minister can commit now or in writing to finding a fast-track route for funding in particular given that some projects for which funding was committed have not even commenced the planning application stage. I assume the Minister's party colleague in the constituency and, indeed, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, have highlighted the importance of the project at party and Cabinet level. How long will it take to get from architectural planning and design stage to the submission of a planning application to South Dublin County Council?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I confirm that Deputies Colm Brophy and Katherine Zappone have been on to me about this project, the frustration around which I can understand. Its history has been very difficult. It is the Department's intention to initiate architectural planning for the building project in conjunction with the completion of the site acquisition process. That suggests no undue delay will occur. I presume there will be some procedural steps to select a team. I will seek clarification in writing for the Deputy as to exactly what the next steps will be.

There is a recognition that we want to move this project along in light of the history and the need in the local area. I will let the Deputy know if there is any additional clarification. I make the point that one can never anticipate in advance if a particular project will be prioritised and completed by a certain date as one does not know what site conditions will be or what planning conditions will be attached. All of these issues may arise which means one can never stand up and say it will be done by a certain date because something will jump out of the ground to prove one wrong. From the Department's point of view, however, this is a priority and we will do our level best to ensure that it runs smoothly from this point on.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Minister taking the Topical Issue directed to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is pass the Paschal.