Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday morning, there was a devastating fire at Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní at Measc Avenue in Coolock. As a result, the school has been closed and approximately 200 pupils who attend it have no accommodation. The junior school has also been closed for the remainder of this week at least. The mood in Coolock, Artane and Harmonstown is one of absolute shock. Teachers and staff, parents and children, are upset and cannot believe what has happened. This school has been at the heart of the local community for almost 60 years and there has been huge loyalty to it, with parents actively involved in fundraising for it and maintaining its surrounding gardens and so on. The school also facilitates local charity and other events. The area is an old established Dublin community, as evidenced yesterday when local people, St. Paul's youth club and the Coolock Residents Association rallied to the cause and provided tea for all those affected.

When I visited the site yesterday, I spoke to some of the staff and parents. I again extend my solidarity and support to the principal, Ms Imelda Whelan, the deputy principal, Ms Fiona Gormley, the board of management of the school and all those affected by the fire. A Garda investigation into the cause of the fire is under way. Hopefully, we will know the outcome of this investigation sooner rather than later.

I pay tribute to the fire services for their professionalism and bravery in bringing the fire under control as quickly as possible. Six units of Dublin Fire Brigade fought the blaze and eventually extinguished it. Thankfully, nobody was injured. As a result of the efforts of fire-fighters, the junior school suffered only water and smoke damage and it is hoped that it will be up and running again soon. There are reports that the efforts of the fire services were delayed owing to poor water pressure in the area. Yesterday, I met a resident who told me that the fire hydrant outside his house is full of concrete and not working. I understand the area experiences poor water pressure on an ongoing basis. These issues will need to be examined by Dublin City Council, Irish Water and Dublin Fire Brigade.

There is now an urgent need to provide alternative accommodation for the teachers and pupils. Everyone in the area is anxious that this be done as soon as possible. I acknowledge that the Minister and his officials visited the school site yesterday, and I thank them. The junior school which was damaged by water and smoke needs to be reopened quickly. Options for the senior school include temporary prefab accommodation on site. As the school is located on a large site, there is space for prefab accommodation but there may be planning requirements around putting them in place. As a result, consideration may need to be given to availing of spare capacity at other schools in the area. When the Minister spoke to the parents yesterday, they told him that they want their children to continue their schooling in the immediate area. I hope this can be facilitated.

It is hoped that the process of repairing and renovating the damaged school building can commence without undue delay, with a contractor on site in the shortest possible timeframe. This is a resilient school community that will overcome this setback. I look forward to hearing from the Minister what progress has been made since he visited the school yesterday.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Haughey for raising this matter. As he stated, I met him and other representatives from the area at the school yesterday. I know all of them want to see this matter prioritised. We are as one in that regard.

In raising this matter, the Deputy has given me the opportunity to outline the steps being taken to ensure that Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní agus Scoil Chaitríona Naíonáin reopen as quickly as possible following the fire early yesterday morning. Like the Deputy, I commend the principal, Ms Imelda Whelan, and the deputy principal, Ms Fiona Gormley, on their leadership in respect of this issue.

I heard very strong sentiments coming from the community that it is looking for a locally based solution. I will pass that on to my officials.

Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní agus Scoil Chaitríona Naíonán are located on the same site at Measc Avenue, Coolock, Dublin 5. Scoil Chaitríona Naíonán is the junior school and enrols boys and girls from junior infants to first class. Some 236 pupils were enrolled in this school in September 2018 and the current staffing is a principal, 13 mainstream teachers and three special education teaching posts. Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní is the senior girls' school and enrols girls from second to sixth class. The enrolment in this school in September 2018 was 202 pupils and it has a current staffing of a principal, nine mainstream teachers and 2.6 special education posts. Boys from the junior school are enrolled in the adjacent St. Brendan's national school which has not been impacted by the fire. All three schools participate in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, programme.

As the Deputy is aware, following a fire early yesterday morning, Scoil Chaitríona senior national school was completely destroyed. While Scoil Chaitríona junior school was not damaged by the fire, it suffered some minor water damage. Both schools will remain closed for the rest of this week. I visited Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní yesterday morning to see for myself the impact of the fire and speak to the principal and school management. This is obviously a traumatic incident for all those connected to the school. My Department will provide every assistance to the school community during this difficult time. The immediate focus is getting the schools back in operation as early as possible next week. I understand that a number of local schools have offered assistance in meeting the immediate accommodation needs of Scoil Chaitríona senior school. Scoil Chaitríona junior school, while not damaged by fire, suffered some minor water damage. It will remain closed for the rest of this week and will hopefully be in a position to open next week.

The Department had a senior official liaising with the principal and school management throughout yesterday and this liaison will continue for as long as necessary. A senior architect from my Department was also out at the schools yesterday to assess the situation and met the principals of both the senior and junior schools. I understand the school authorities are meeting today, although I have had no feedback from that meeting at this juncture. They will update parents and staff in the first instance on the accommodation arrangements proposed for next week. Once the school has reopened, my Department will be in discussion with the school patron and board of management to explore all options available to address the school's accommodation needs pending the reinstatement of the destroyed building.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I appreciate that this is an evolving situation and that meetings are taking place today, as the Minister said. Parents and children are very anxious about this matter. They need more definite arrangements to be conveyed to them as soon as possible. I appreciate that discussions are ongoing and various options are still under consideration, including utilising spare capacity in neighbouring schools. I thank those schools for offering their assistance. The sooner we can have clarity on all of these issues, the better. Deputies will be aware of the inconvenience caused for parents in particular when their children are off school. Parents have work and various commitments. It is not good for the children themselves, although they may not appreciate it, to be off school for long.

This was a devastating fire. There are a number of issues that need to be investigated. I know it is not the responsibility of the Minister but the Garda investigation should be concluded as soon as possible. Issues in respect of water pressure were reported in some of the media today and I heard about them at first hand yesterday. Apparently there was a delay in getting adequate water supply to the school to deal with the fire and water had to be taken from the Malahide Road, which is a little further away. All these issues need to be looked at but the sooner we can have clarity on this outcome and the new arrangements to be put in place, the better.

This is a resilient school community. It has experienced a setback but where there is a will, there is a way. We need the practical help and support of the Minister and his officials in their discussions with the school authorities to ensure that the accommodation is provided as soon as possible and the school is repaired and renovated in the shortest possible timeframe. Normality for all concerned has to be restored as soon as possible.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy and reiterate that a timeframe is needed. An outline is needed to allow families to make preparations. We are hoping to be in a position to have the junior school back next week. We are looking at all options in respect of temporary provision prior to the school being rebuilt, from prefabs to spare capacity in local schools. Everything is on the table. I do not want to highlight one option over another but we need a common sense solution. We certainly have an understanding that we need some sort of outline that gives parents confidence that their sons and daughters will be back in the classroom. We will keep the communication lines open. As soon as we get an information update, it will be conveyed to the parents through the usual channels of the principal and leadership of the school.

The Deputy used the word "resilience". I should say to everybody involved, from the emergency services right through to the Garda and school community, when push came to shove yesterday the community came together. We have a duty in the Department to respond to the needs and demands of that community and I am happy to step up to the plate in that regard. As soon as we have any direction or information on what will happen in the short term, not the medium to long term, I will be happy to forward it.