Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome this opportunity to raise the important issue of Coláiste Dhún Másc in Portlaoise. I also welcome that the Minister of State is taking this debate today. Coláiste Dhún Másc was established in 2017 and opened two years ago. The school currently has 78 pupils and is housed on an interim basis in what was the old technical school on Railway Street in Portlaoise. The building was renovated by the vocational education committee, which is now Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, ETB. The building is okay but has some shortcomings, for example, there is very little space around it to use as play areas and no room for expansion. I give great credit to Laois and Offaly ETB, the staff of the college, particularly an príomhoide, Aoife Elster, who has done great work, and An Foras Patrúnachta, which is joint patron along with Laois and Offaly ETB.

The school is dhátheangach; it is a bilingual school. There is an Irish stream and an English stream and it is very successful. There are 78 pupils in the school despite the fact it only has first and second year classes at the moment. Pupils from throughout County Laois attend. The school provides second level education for children from all schools, but particularly to those from the three Gaelscoileanna in the county, Gaelscoil Shlí Dála, Gaelscoil Thromaire and Gaelscoil Phortlaoise. It is a huge success story. It also has a stream taught as Béarla, which brings in all pupils.

The school has grown beyond anyone's expectation and already has 112 pupils registered for September. I acknowledge that we have three relatively new secondary schools in Portlaoise, with three large schools built in the town in the past 15 years. I acknowledge that because sometimes we complain about what it not happening. There has been a major expansion in second level education, and indeed in primary education, in the county. Investment has been made in education over the past 12 or 13 years. Sometimes when the schools are being built people ask if they will ever be filled, but they are being filled. Demographic information is telling us they are filling up even more quickly. We have run out of space and outgrown the buildings. Portlaoise is a very fast-growing town. These schools are taking pupils from large catchment areas. Coláiste Dhún Másc in particular, because of its Irish stream, is bringing in children from all parts of the county all the way to the outer fringes. It is a great success story but it needs a new site and a new building. Laois Offaly ETB will ensure the current building does not stand empty. It is a very dynamic organisation which plays a significant role in providing further education in counties Laois and Offaly. It provides a broad range of educational supports and all sorts of courses to help people to train, upskill and get back into work. Coláiste Dhún Másc is located in the old technical school. We must start the process of tying down a site for it so that it can move on and expand.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this issue, which my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, has also raised with me. I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, but I have heard from people, including Deputy Stanley, about how progressive the school is, how pupils want to go to it and how well it is managed. I have also heard that it has an excellent principal. I acknowledge those facts.

Coláiste Dhún Másc opened in September 2017 under the patronage of the Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, ETB, to serve Portlaoise. In line with the establishment of such new schools generally, it commenced with an intake of first year students and enrolments at the school are continuing to grow. The school is currently located in interim accommodation sourced by the ETB and a building project to deliver permanent accommodation is included in the Department's capital programme.

The delivery of the permanent school building for Coláiste Dhún Másc requires the acquisition of a suitable site. In that respect, the Department has been working closely with Laois County Council under the memorandum of understanding on the acquisition of a site. Officials have also been closely engaged with officials in the Laois and Offaly ETB regarding the process. A number of potential site options were identified and comprehensively assessed, with input from officials in the county council and the ETB.

The Deputy will appreciate that multiple factors must be considered in respect of potential school sites, including sometimes complex technical issues as well as the suitability. Unfortunately, all the sites initially identified presented challenges in respect of the proposed acquisition or the delivery of school accommodation thereon. A further site option was subsequently identified and was found to present a viable solution for the delivery of accommodation and ancillary facilities for Coláiste Dhún Másc. Negotiations with the landowner in respect of the proposed acquisition of this site are at an advanced stage. The Deputy will appreciate the commercial sensitivities that attach to school site acquisitions generally and in this instance, given the delicate status of the current negotiations, I am not in a position to disclose any further information regarding the proposed location of the school's permanent accommodation. However, I assure the Deputy that departmental officials are working to advance the acquisition of a site for Coláiste Dhún Másc as expeditiously as possible with a view to facilitating the progression of the project to deliver its permanent accommodation into architectural planning at the earliest possible date.

The Department will continue to liaise with officials in the Laois and Offaly ETB in order to keep them apprised of the status of the site acquisition process and will inform the ETB and school community of the permanent location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply, which contained some positive news. The key point is that, even after a site has been secured, it will take a considerable time, perhaps more than two years, to go through the various stages of design, planning and construction. The best case scenario will see the school up and running in 2022 or 2023.

I will outline the demands on the school. It is a victim of its own success, having grown so quickly from 40 pupils in its first year to more than 200 by September. That is no bad thing. I welcome that the Department is engaging intensively with the county council and the ETB on trying to progress the school. There were difficulties with some of the sites that were identified. It makes sense to try to get the most suitable site, and I welcome that the Department is working to advance the acquisition of a site for Coláiste Dhún Másc and trying to progress the project as quickly as possible.

I urge the Minister of State to speak to the Minister, Deputy McHugh, to whom I will also speak, and give him the message that, while we welcome the good news, we need to keep the push on and get a site secured so that the project can move to the design, planning permission and construction stages as quickly as possible. The population growth in the county, in particular the number of baptisms in Portlaoise and its neighbouring parishes, tell us that there will be a large increase in its secondary school population in the next five to ten years.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I will bring the Deputy's message to the Minister. I face the same problem with the Dún Laoghaire Educate Together school, in that it is a question of getting a site. There are sensitivities and complexities involved in site acquisition. The Deputy should please speak to the Minister as well.