Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this issue. Regarding the closure of the greyhound track in Youghal, I think Youghal is being sacrificed on the altar of expediency. It is a profit centre that is washing its face. The terms of reference set out with regard to the Indecon report seem to have worked unfairly against centres like Youghal. There will be a good fight by the people of Youghal regarding the proposal to close this track.

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the lack of school places in east Cork. The Minister for Education and Skills will be aware of the proposal regarding Carrigtwohill community college. The people of Carrigtwohill are now being told that it could be 2023 by the time the school opens there and that a process is being gone through with Cork County Council. We have had some engagement with the education and training board. As late as last Friday, we were told that a certain number of places for the Carrigtwohill area for the 2020 intake up to 2023 will be provided. Notwithstanding that, I wish to put to the Minister the fact that we are receiving many emails and phone calls from parents who find themselves falling foul of the enrolment policy as instigated by the community college in Carrigtwohill through no fault of their own. They are bereft at the fact that notwithstanding the proposal to put in place new classes for September 2020, there is no guarantee that a certain number of those parents will have places for their sons and daughters for September 2020 and onwards. It applies not only in Carrigtwohill but in Midleton.

I know the Minister is a person of deep empathy who would be very mindful and conscious of the needs of families and will appreciate that at this juncture, there is no guarantee of places for those students in Carrigtwohill, which causes a massive amount of stress for those families. I wish to bear witness for those families because they are being told that by dint of the enrolment policy, particularly where there are two siblings, one girl and one boy, if the girl has received a place in another all-girl school, the boy who may wish to enrol in Carrigtwohill community college is not guaranteed a place. This is a function of the enrolment policy. I have been told by the education and training board that this position is entirely legal. I understand that to a certain extent but in an era where equality matters, it must be the case that the Government does everything it can to ensure that families are not divided in towns like Carrigtwohill by dint of an enrolment policy where there is no guarantee of a place notwithstanding the efforts of the education and training board to provide extra classrooms and the fact that the education and training board is engaging with the Department of Education and Skills as of 18 November regarding future provision of places. We must still ensure that no young student is without a school place so I ask the Minister to do his level best on this.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter because it gives me the opportunity to set out to the House the position regarding second level places in Carrigtwohill and the wider east Cork area. This is a matter that the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, has raised with me on a number of occasions. It is an issue that Deputy Sherlock and his colleague from east Cork, Deputy O'Keeffe, continue to keep on the radar. I realise and understand the importance of this issue.

Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date information on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes. For school planning purposes, Carrigtwohill is located in the Midleton-Carrigtwohill school planning area. Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is needed, as the Deputy is no doubt aware, the delivery of such additional provision can be provided through utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools, extending the capacity of a school or schools, or the provision of a new school or schools.

As the Deputy will be aware, in April 2018 the Government announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years, 2019 to 2022, including three new primary schools and one new post-primary school in County Cork. While the announcement did not include a new school for the Midleton-Carrigtwohill school planning area, or the wider east Cork area, the requirement for new schools is kept under ongoing review and, in particular, has regard for the increased roll-out of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.

The following new schools were established in recent years to serve the Midleton-Carrigtwohill school planning area. Carrigtwohill community college, a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school was established in temporary accommodation in 2016. Scoil Chlíodhna community national school, a new 16-classroom primary school, was established in temporary accommodation in 2015. A campus development in Carrigtwohill, when complete, will accommodate three new schools: Carrigtwohill community college, with 1,000 pupils plus a three-classroom special education needs base; Scoil Chlíodhna, with 24 classrooms plus a three-classroom special education needs base; and Scoil Mhuire primary school, with 24 classrooms plus a three-classroom special education needs base with a total population of approximately 2,200 pupils. The site is over 10 ha in size which includes a road network. This will be the single biggest and most expensive schools campus ever built by the Department.

The building project for the Carrigtwohill campus is being delivered under the Department's design and build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external project management team to progress the project through the stages of architectural planning, tendering and construction.

Carrigtwohill community college is currently in interim accommodation and a planning application for the permanent accommodation campus was lodged in May 2019. A request for further information was received in August 2019. The Department's project management team is actively working on this request for further information. It is expected that a response to the local authority's request for further information will be submitted shortly.

In February 2019, the school was approved for rental of additional temporary accommodation of a 1 x 100 sq. m science lab and three mainstream classrooms to cater for additional enrolments. All of that accommodation has now been installed.

Planning has also been secured for an additional two classrooms to facilitate enrolments for the 2020-21 academic year and these will be installed during the summer holiday in 2020.

Representatives of Cork Education and Training Board, ETB, which is patron of Carrigtwohill community school, recently met with officials from my Department regarding the provision of further additional accommodation. The ETB and the Department will continue to engage regarding the provision of this further accommodation. I understand that officials of Cork ETB met with parents on 21 November 2019 to update them on the accommodation position for the school and I understand that a further meeting is due to take place in December 2019.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Notwithstanding the facts about the additional two classrooms and ongoing engagement between his officials and the ETB that the Minister has laid before the House, there remains the problem that, even when that capacity is achieved, there will still be unmet demand from parents and students in the east Cork area.

It should be taken into account that 2020 is the timeline for the delivery of the school campus. I should respectfully correct the Minister and say that this has been on the agenda since 2012. Even when that temporary infrastructure is built and the demand for places is met through the new campus, parents will still not know where their children will be going to school and that might be the case into May of next year. We cannot countenance a situation where we have uncertainty that is causing major stress and strain for parents. Parents would be reassured if that could be looked at. There is no guarantee from the ETB that demand can be met at present. That is what the ETB is telling us.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I understand the frustration and anxiety. Frustration builds if proper information is not given and communication channels are not kept open. That is why it is so important that Cork ETB and the officials in Tullamore continue to liaise with one another and continue to ensure that relevant information and updates are put out there. I am confident that is already happening.

I am also confident that this major project is being treated with seriousness. There are some important areas to address and examinations that need to be done before moving onto the next stages, including the procurement of additional topographical surveys and further liaison with Cork County Council to firm up the extent of revisions to the public road areas once the topographical surveys are complete. These surveys have been commissioned and were due to take place on 29 November. Project managers have liaised with the electrical department of Cork County Council and also continue to liaise with Cork Count Council on flood alleviation works. It is a big project.

The Deputy expressed concerns about September 2020. If there is outstanding demand for school places in September 2020, we have vigilant officials who will deal with that. They will stay in touch with the different people and bodies, including principals or, in this case, the ETB. It is really important that we continue that conversation.

We are now in December 2019 so we have time to deal with the outstanding issues and I assure the Deputy that we will continue to be vigilant in that regard.