Dáil debates

Thursday, 9 July 2020

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

School Accommodation

5:35 pm

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire on her new role. Scoil Chrónáin in Rathcoole is bursting at the seams. Census data show very clearly that Rathcoole is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. To keep up with this demand, Scoil Chrónáin erected six temporary prefabs on its playing pitch, which has deprived pupils of that facility. An additional two prefabs will shortly be added.

Scoil Chrónáin has looked forward to securing funding for a long-awaited school building for 45 years. When the Department purchased land from South Dublin County Council adjacent to the current school and it was assigned to a new school for Scoil Chrónáin, there was hope that finally the school would have the quality accommodation it deserves.

This hope was crushed last month when the Department published plans to build temporary accommodation for another school on this land. While the school is supposed to be temporary, once that school goes ahead there is concern that it may never leave. There is no permanent approved site for the new school, and it seems like history repeating itself. This move by the Department is blatantly unjust and unfair.

Scoil Chrónáin has been embedded in the community in Rathcoole for generations and deserves the opportunity to expand to meet the demand for education through the Irish language in the area. That fact that land is available for the school's extension adjacent to its current building seems to give it an ideal opportunity to allow a new school building to be built there when it is so badly needed.

It is unbelievable that the Department earmarked this land for the school and overnight made a decision to hand it over to a different school without any consultation with Scoil Chrónáin or the local community. It is a smack in the face for the school and for the Irish-speaking community throughout south Dublin and our community in Rathcoole.

Rathcoole Educate Together is equally deserving of school accommodation, but just not on land earmarked for another school. It is dishonest of the Department to mislead Rathcoole Educate Together into believing that it will have a temporary situation in Rathcoole. As the Minister will be aware from her background in education, once a temporary school is built it often remains in use for years to come. If this temporary school is built the likelihood is that children coming into junior infants in September will graduate from the same shabby temporary accommodation in years to come and Scoil Chrónáin will still be awaiting its long-promised building. If that happens, no one is a winner - not the school, the children or the parents.

This decision has triggered outrage in the local community, and I am sure the Minister can understand why. It was an overnight decision made by the Department that also places the Educate Together school in an unfair and difficult position. Because of the Department's failure to have the basic courtesy to even consult the community, hundreds of objections to the planning permission for this school have been made, which makes it inevitable that it will be appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

The Department has now had to advise the Educate Together school, which had believed that junior infants would be starting in a new building there in September, that new temporary alternative accommodation has to be found. The Department has made a bit of a mess here and Scoil Chrónáin, the Educate Together school and the community in Rathcoole will lose out. Will the Minister reverse this decision, provide funding for Scoil Chrónáin to build its long- awaited school on the land beside its school and resolve the situation for the Educate Together school?

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Scoil Chrónáin is an existing all-Irish co-educational primary school, under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin and centrally located in the village of Rathcoole. A building project to provide a new 16-classroom school plus a two-classroom special educational needs unit for the school is included in my Department's school building programme. The new building will be provided on a site adjacent to its existing site in Rathcoole, County Dublin.

This site is being acquired by my Department from South Dublin County Council.

Rathcoole Educate Together national school is a new English medium primary school being established in 2020 under the patronage of Educate Together. This new school will be an English medium, co-educational,16-classroom school, plus a two-classroom special educational needs unit. It will be located in a Department-owned site at Coolamber Drive, Rathcoole, County Dublin. Access to this site will require the construction of a new road which is currently being planned by South Dublin County Council. As the Coolamber site is not currently accessible and as the Department now has access to the land adjacent to Scoil Chrónáin, it was determined that the interim accommodation for Rathcoole Educate Together national school could be provided temporarily on that site.

The Department wrote to the board of management of Scoil Chrónáin on 19 March 2020 with regard to the proposed construction of a permanent school building for the school and outlining the Department's plans in this regard. The letter outlined that the Department was in the process of acquiring an additional site area adjacent to their existing site for this purpose.

Scoil Chrónáin was informed of my Department's intention to commence the architectural planning process for the construction of its new school building. The Department also outlined that in tandem with this it would also initiate the architectural planning process for the construction of the new primary school, Rathcoole Educate Together national school. The letter outlined that the building projects for both schools would be advanced in parallel.

The letter further outlined the need for my Department to provide interim accommodation to facilitate the new start-up school accommodation for Rathcoole Educate Together national school and that this interim accommodation was intended to be temporarily placed on the additional site area being acquired for Scoil Chrónáin. It outlined the process which was to take place, including lodging a planning application for the interim accommodation for Rathcoole Educate Together national school and also advised that the Department plans to move this temporary accommodation for the new school to its Coolamber Drive site as soon as site access is secured and in order to facilitate the construction of the permanent building for Scoil Chrónáin.

My Department had also intended to arrange a meeting with Scoil Chrónáin to explain these matters in more detail but then the Covid situation occurred which has prevented this meeting taking place to date. Now that the country is reopening for business, my officials will be in contact with Scoil Chrónáin to arrange that meeting shortly. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

5:45 pm

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for providing an outline of her Department's position on this matter and agreeing to hold the meeting. Unfortunately, the experience of schools in my constituency does not inspire hope. Scoil Chrónáin has been awaiting a new building for 45 years. St. Joseph's secondary school in Lucan has been awaiting a new building for 15 years. Scoil Áine Naofa and St. Thomas' junior national school in Lucan remain in prefabs. Lucan Community College has been awaiting an extension for as long as I can remember. Griffeen Community College is operating out of another school and my own secondary school, Holy Family community school, has been waiting for a new building since before I graduated. This simply is not good enough.

I got involved in politics to shout about these kinds of issues in my constituency and bring them to the attention of senior Ministers so I appreciate the Minister taking the time to listen to me today. I know from the Minister's background as a teacher and local politician that she understands the importance of providing adequate school accommodation for children and I am asking her to help me secure these new buildings. Each of the buildings in question is promised, budgeted for and needed. I thank the Minister for her response.

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy's response. I think there is a clear acknowledgment in the reply I gave that the Department is committed to providing the facilities that the Deputy has mentioned. I will ensure that my Department officials meet with representatives of the school.