Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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35. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 9; and its future status and designation in order to allow it continue its long established work with students with a visual impairment and with students with learning difficulties. [51978/17]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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My question concerns a school in Dublin 9, Rosmini Community School, and it is to ask about its future status and designation to allow it to continue its long-established tradition of working with children with a visual impairment and children with learning difficulties.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I know this school well. The major project for Rosmini Community School is included in the six year construction programme, announced on 17 November 2015. The building project will provide a new 350 student post primary school with an multiple disability and visual impairment unit on the site of existing school building.

Planning permission for this new school was lodged with Dublin City Council at the end of January 2017. Notification of decision to grant planning permission was received on 18 Aug 2017 from Dublin City Council. There has been a third party planning appeal to An Bord Pleanála, which has significantly delayed this project from progressing to tender stage. The design team appointed by my Department has submitted a detailed rebuttal of this appeal and a decision from An Bord Pleanála is awaited.

This project is currently at stage 2B of architectural planning, which is detailed design. The design team is preparing the stage 2B submission, which will be submitted to my Department following the conclusion of the appeal to An Bord Pleanála. When the stage 2B submission has been received and reviewed, my Department will be in contact with the school authorities as regards the further progression of this project to tender and construction stages.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I take it from the Minister's reply that its status and designation will continue. I know the school very well, I know its current and former staff and I know the current and former staff in ChildVision. They share the same campus and there has been a long tradition of children moving from one to the other. This is reflected in the ethos of Rosmini. Traditionally, it was inclusive of those children with a visual impairment and with other needs. When St. Mary's school for blind girls in Merrion closed quite a number went over to Rosmini. The reality now is there seems to be an effort to undermine its status. For example, transport has been refused to certain students with special needs. There is also the loss of a number of special needs assistants in the school. The Minister knows the school is in the prefabs on the grounds of All Hallows. There is concern that its status may not be recognised because of various things happening with the Department regarding the students who attend there and who have special needs.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I know of no change in any policy on either transport or the provision of special needs assistants for children. Each case is examined on its merits. The status of Rosmini remains the same. It adjoins the campus managed by ChildVision in which St. Joseph's school for the visually impaired is located. Pupils graduate from St. Joseph's to Rosmini Community School.

The new school will have a multiple disability and visual impairment unit. I do not know what is the implication of the Deputy's question. I do not believe that there is any attempt to change the status of the school, but if the Deputy wishes to send me something under separate cover I will have it checked out.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I will certainly get back to the principal. I encourage the Minister to do that. They were very happy with the design of the new school, which is taking the wider corridors, the two lifts and tactile surfaces into account. The reality is that the school was turned down for transport for children with an impairment of one sort or another. The Department only backtracked when it acknowledged that the parents had bought uniforms for those children and that they could get transport there. I will take the Minister up on his offer and ask the principal of the school to contact him directly because there are concerns that the Department was rowing back on the tradition of looking after children with a visual impairment and special needs and that the status the school has had up to now will not continue. As the Minister knows, that tradition has developed between ChildVision and the community school. We hope to see the community school back on its original campus beside ChildVision.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I will arrange to have my officials contact the school on that matter. It is a school that was formerly within my constituency, but in the future it will be represented by Deputy O'Sullivan. We have a mutual interest in the excellent work that was done and continues to be done in that school. I will ensure that contact is made.