Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This is the story of three very important schools in Celbridge, County Kildare. One is St. Raphael's Special School, in respect of which it was determined 20 years ago that it urgently needed replacement. The plans are now advancing, but whether they are advancing fast enough remains to be seen because there were some title issues, some of which are still outstanding. Our colleague has arranged a meeting with the Minister next week, and it is to be hoped some further information will be available at that. In the meantime, we wish to emphasise the absolute urgency of the case. The other two schools are Scoil Naomh Pádraig and Celbridge Community School. There are three schools on the one site.

Negotiations have to take place with the roads section in Kildare County Council and traffic management for the area needs to be co-ordinated, along with the yielding of the title to the site. Without all of those things coming together at the same time, we will not be able to proceed in the way we want to. I hope that all goes well. We have waited for this for a long time. The local community is very anxious and we now call on the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who cannot be here for reasons that are quite well known at this time of the week, to address this.

I hope the Minister of State will convey to the Minister the absolute urgency of the situation. We hope to meet her face-to-face next week, during which time we will raise these matters again. We hope this will bring the bacon home for the people of Celbridge who are anxiously awaiting news.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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This is the second time Deputy Durkan and I have tabled a Topical Issue on this issue. I cannot stress enough how important this is to the three schools concerned, St. Raphael's Special School, Scoil Naomh Pádraig and Celbridge Community School. It is important not just for the schools, but the children who attend and have yet to attend, their families and the entire community.

The process has been going on and on with Kildare County Council for the past few years. We have now been told that the county council has finished its involvement in the process. I am sure the Minister of State will understand how anxious we, the schools and the principals are to move with all speed to the commencement date for the building work that needs to take place. It is vitally important that the principals of the three schools are involved because they are the experts.

I wrote to the Minister two weeks ago to ask for a meeting and, as Deputy Durkan said, that meeting will take place next week. We appreciate that. It is important that the principals also attend the meeting because they are the experts. We need to move with all haste. Celbridge is a thriving and vibrant town and community, and the three schools need to be built.

I have always wondered why there is no proper forward planning in the Department of Education. Maynooth University, in my home town, publishes reports and we know how many children there are in a given area. I do not see why there cannot be some forward planning in the provision of schools. It is good to see us working together on this. The four Deputies in the constituency are anxious about this. I look forward to the response from the Minister of State.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies Durkan and Cronin for providing me with the opportunity to, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, update the House on the position with respect to the acquisition of the three-school campus site in Celbridge, County Kildare, on behalf of the Minister for Education.

The construction of new school buildings for St. Raphael's Special School, Celbridge Community School and Scoil Naomh Pádraig are included in the Department of Education's schools building programme. It is intended that the new schools will be located on a site being acquired at Donaghcumper, Celbridge, as part of a campus development. In tandem with the site acquisition, the Department of Education is working on the accommodation briefs for the three schools, which is part of the preparatory work associated with the architectural planning process. The Department is committed to advancing the campus development as quickly as possible and will keep the school advised of progress in this regard.

I can confirm that the Department of Education has agreement in principle for the acquisition of a site to accommodate the three-school campus at Donaghcumper, Celbridge, and the acquisition process is at an advanced stage. The Department of Education is currently engaging with developers to finalise the details of the heads of terms, and officials in the Department have worked closely with officials from Kildare County Council regarding this site acquisition. The Department is continuing to actively engage with all stakeholders. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally, the Department of Education is not in a position to provide any further information at this stage.

Deputy Durkan has asked me to convey the urgency of the situation to the Minister, and I will certainly do that. Deputy Cronin spoke about a meeting next week, and I hope the schools will be in a better position after that. It is taking a long time to acquire the site. I hope the meeting next week brings more information and there is better news.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Unfortunately, it does not contain any extra news other than what I received in a reply to a parliamentary question about a week ago. However, it presents an opportunity to restate the urgency of the case. The urgency arises from the fact that we have been pursuing this particular objective for quite a number of years. In the case of St. Raphael's, 20 years is a long time. Two or three generations of children have come and gone through the school, and yet it is still awaiting further developments.

I hope that a very particular emphasis is put on the need for speed in the case of the provision of the three schools concerned at the earliest opportunity. It would be very important to be able to tell the representatives of the schools' authorities when the Minister meets them next week the exact position and how long the further discussions and negotiations are going to take place. If there are any particular snags, we need to know about them now.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I would also like to thank the Minister for his reply. Unfortunately, there is not much more information in it than the reply I received to my parliamentary question. I appreciate that is the current position. These schools have been through so much, in particular St. Raphael's which is a school for children with special needs and intellectual disabilities. Given the current state of the school, we have to do better.

Since I was elected, I have, along with councillors in Celbridge, met the principals of these schools in the evening, and it is important to acknowledge their commitment to their students. They are working out of hours. My mother was a principal and I know, no more than being a Deputy, it is a full-time job. One does not get time off. I would like to acknowledge their commitment to their students and I look forward to the meeting next week. It is to be hoped things can progress with a degree of urgency.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I again thank Deputies for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister, they should rest assured that this project is being given priority attention and we are attempting to bring the matter to a close as soon as possible. I understand significant technical matters crucial to the delivery of the site were identified by the site acquisition team. Each matter requires thorough and complex assessment, in conjunction with Kildare County Council and the landowner.

I must emphasise the importance of conducting a thorough appraisal of the site specific technicalities before proceeding with an acquisition, not only to minimise risk, but also to obtain the best value for money for the Exchequer. The site acquisition process is complex and subject to the completion of a successful negotiation and conveyancing process. I would like to give the Deputies a definite timeframe for the completion of the acquisition, but officials will endeavour to bring the process to a conclusion as soon as possible.

It is expected that once legal conveyancing commences, the project to deliver the new school accommodation can simultaneously progress to architectural planning stage.