Dáil debates

Wednesday, 30 May 2018

Topical Issue Debate

School Accommodation

2:20 pm

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I sincerely hope the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, has come in here with some good news for me because the people in St. Michael's special school in Skerries truly deserve it. They recently had an inspection and the inspector found that the teaching and the learning in this establishment is exemplary. I have met some of the parents, I have met the children and I have met the teaching staff there. One could not meet a more dedicated, hardworking and nicer bunch of people.

However, the conditions in which they are delivering services are unacceptable. As the sun is shining - I am not here to give out about the sunshine - it gets uncomfortably warm within the school. The good news is at least they can go outside. When it is cold, they have no large hall in which to congregate. They are operating in a building that is not fit for purpose.

My understanding, and the Minister of State may correct me if I am wrong, is that Fingal County Council has confirmed that it has found a site. As far as the local authority is concerned, its work is done as the site is located and it is over to the Department. There was a board of management meeting earlier on this week, a phone call was placed to the Department to get an update on the position and the board of management has not received an update yet.

I represent the constituency with the fastest growing population in the State. Having many young people in the constituency is good but not being able to look after the children in the constituency is not good. As we speak, there are at least five children for whom there is no school place. These are children who have special needs. These are children who would benefit significantly from being in St. Michael's school. If I had an hour, I could spend it talking about those involved and the good work that they do. Colleagues of the Minister of State have visited the school. Anyone who does could not fail to be impressed.

I am not the only local representative who has raised this. The reason we have is because it is a lovely place and they are waiting a very long time to get suitable accommodation. I do not know how the staff manage to put up with it. The accommodation they are in is wholly inadequate and unsuitable and extreme temperatures, either hot or cold, show that up.

I have my fingers crossed here that the Minister of State has some good news for me.

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising this matter.

I am taking this debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, and wish to apologise on behalf of the Minister who cannot be present due to a prior commitment. I will make sure to convey to him the matters raised in this debate.

St. Michael's House special school was established in 1982 and is located in a rented building with temporary accommodation in Hacketstown, Skerries, County Dublin. The Department is committed to providing a permanent accommodation solution, and in that regard a project to deliver a new school building for St. Michael’s House special school on a greenfield site has been included the Department’s six-year capital programme. It is planned to provide a new school building for St. Michael’s special school to accommodate a 14 classroom school, expandable to 16 classrooms, to include classes for pupils with mild general learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, multiple disabilities and severe and profound disabilities. The Department is working closely with Fingal County Council in accordance with the memorandum of understanding on the identification and acquisition of a suitable site to facilitate the school building project.

The site acquisition process for this school has been ongoing for some time. Initial efforts were focused on acquiring land in the vicinity of the school’s current location which was preferred by the school authorities. Efforts in that regard were unsuccessful and subsequently the current site option was identified. The acquisition process was paused for some time while the Department engaged with the school authorities regarding potential alternative accommodation which was available at the time. Based on the outcome of this engagement, the site acquisition process recently restarted and negotiations with the relevant landowner are at an advanced stage. I confirm that a potential permanent site option has been identified and is being progressed.

The Department, with the assistance of Fingal County Council, is engaging with the landowner. Department officials are working to clarify some technical issues on the development of the site and this assessment process is expected to be completed in approximately two weeks, assuming no issues arise. Once these technical queries have been clarified, agreement on the terms of the site acquisition can be finalised and it is anticipated that the conveyancing process can then be advanced by the respective solicitors.

2:30 pm

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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That is not all negative-----

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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It is pretty positive.

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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-----but it is not a date. I understand it is positive, but it is not a date. The Minister of State will appreciate that as we head towards the summer break when the kids will be heading off, it would be very helpful if we were heading into the summer knowing there was a definitive date. Reference was made to a potential permanent site option. My understanding is a permanent site option has been identified and that this process is under way. The Minister of State also referred to clarifying some technical issues. I appreciate she will not have the information with her here but she might provide to me in writing what exactly those issues are. If there are stumbling blocks and the staff, parents or any of the local representatives can help in any way with that, we certainly will because there is great affection for the school in our local area.

It would be preferable if we could identify a date. The Minister of State will appreciate, and she alluded to it in terms of the pausing of the process, that it is something that has had a lot of false starts which have not been helpful. There are five children for whom there may not be a place to go to school. They are children with special needs. They are the children we should be looking after the most. They and their parents do not have sight of what school the kids will be going to in September. There is definitely a need. My fear is by the time the school is built, the need will have outstripped even the new school. The Minister of State might advise me, even if it is in writing, of the technical issues and confirm that a permanent site option has been identified, not a potential permanent site option. My understanding is the site has been identified.

Photo of Mary Mitchell O'ConnorMary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I am sure the Deputy can appreciate, as most people in the country can, that dealing with legal conveyancing takes time. I confirm the Department is committed to progressing this project and will continue to liaise with Fingal County Council. The acquisition process for a permanent site is under way. The Department is aware of the limitations of the current temporary accommodation and every effort is being made to progress the permanent accommodation for the school as quickly as possible.