Dáil debates

Tuesday, 11 October 2022

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Schools Building Projects

11:45 pm

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for taking this Topical Issue at this late hour. It concerns the need to progress the delivery of new school buildings for schools in my constituency. Dublin Mid-West is a thriving and rapidly growing area that includes communities such as Lucan, Clondalkin and Palmerstown, and the communities and villages of Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas.

The need for capacity in our schools has simply never been greater, in particular at post-primary level. Far too often I am contacted by panicked parents who cannot find somewhere for their children to go to secondary school or by exasperated principals who have been waiting decades for the promised extension for their school community. These are people who are fed up of waiting patiently. They are tired of being the bad guys and having to tell parents the school cannot accept their children as students. As a result, in many cases parents are having to send their children out of the county to schools in Kildare to find a school place. They are having to travel long distances to and from school every day, relying on bus services that are flawed at best and non-existent at worst.

While the lack of capacity and the long delays in delivering school buildings is massively frustrating for both parents and students who cannot find school places, it is equally impactful on students and staff in situ, who are packed like sardines into cramped classrooms that are no longer fit for purpose. To be honest, it is shameful that in 2022 all of our students do not have equality when it comes to access to education. That is the reality. Some schools do not have a physical education, PE, hall, woodwork room or home economics room because, instead of being in a promised new building, they are left to languish on a waiting list in Marlborough Street or Tullamore.

Let us talk about examples. Lucan Community College applied for a new school building in 2009. The project proceeded to tender but, 13 years later, those in the school are still waiting. Griffeen Community College had its planning application approved in February this year, but eight months later, the project still has not even gone to tender. Griffeen has been accommodated in Kishoge since it opened. Why do we even open schools when we do not have buildings for them? Should that not be the first step?

Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole has been trying to get a new building since I was a student there, which was neither today nor yesterday. The school has more than 900 pupils who are now mostly accommodated in temporary prefabs. In September last year, the school received 280 applications for enrolment but could only accept 180. Its outdated building cannot accommodate students with physical disabilities. That is another reason the school urgently needs a building.

In the next village over, Saggart, is Coláiste Pobail Fóla. It is only a stone's throw from Citywest, where a large number of Ukrainians are being accommodated. That school is having to turn away a lot of those children because it does not have extra capacity.

We know housing is the biggest challenge facing this Government and areas such as mine are playing a role in resolving the crisis. More homes are being built and more estates are popping up, but they need to be met with amenities, infrastructure and adequate capacity for our schools. Across the board in my constituency, school building projects are languishing at tender stage with no sign of movement and no ground being broken. That must change.

I am asking the Minister to expedite the tender process to get boots on the ground in our schools and to start building across Dublin Mid-West. The delivery of a new school building is a welcome event for communities. It generates hope and excitement. The Minister saw that first-hand just last month at the opening of Stewarts School in Lucan. In Dublin Mid-West, we have many school communities in desperate need of the hope and excitement new school buildings would bring.

11:55 pm

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. It gives me the opportunity to set out for the House the position with regard to the delivery of school building projects under the national development plan in Dublin Mid-West. To plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system using data from a range of sources to identify where the pressure for school places throughout the country will arise. With this information, the Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level. Where the demographic data indicate additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through using 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. The requirement for additional school places is kept under ongoing review.

The Deputy will be aware that, following analysis of demographics and planned residential development, a new primary school was announced to serve the Clondalkin school planning area. My Department is monitoring the pace of residential development and population growth in that area with a view to determining the appropriate timing for the establishment of this new school. Under Project 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion in capital investment over the period 2021 to 2025. This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty in our ambitious plans and deliver high-quality building projects with a real focus on sustainability for school communities throughout Ireland. This investment will build on the good progress being made in adding capacity to cater for demographic changes and provision for children with special educational needs. The investment will also facilitate an increased focus on the modernisation of existing school stock.

The Department has a large pipeline of projects for delivery under the school building programme. The main elements in this pipeline currently involve in excess of 1,300 school building projects for delivery under the Department's large-scale and additional accommodation scheme. These projects are in progress across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction. Most are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period to 2025. A list of all completed and ongoing capital projects under the large-scale and additional accommodation scheme in county order from 2010 to date may be viewed on the Department's website.

As can be seen from the list on the website, a significant number of school building projects are underway or have been completed across the Dublin Mid-West area, with 30 large-scale and additional school accommodation scheme projects currently across various stages of planning and delivery. I note the Deputy referenced a school that has been waiting for additional accommodation since 2009. I have been Minister for two years. I will give the Deputy the update on my term as Minister. A large-scale project at the Clondalkin schools campus is currently at tender stage. This will provide new 16-classroom school buildings for Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige, as well as enhanced facilities for Coláiste Chillian. While there have been some challenges, this joint major project is anticipated to be on site in quarter 2 of 2023, subject to planning and tendering processes, as is always the case. The Department is also delivering a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school building for Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole, which is expected to commence construction in quarter 1 of 2023. A project at Griffeen Community College, Lucan, which the Deputy mentioned, is expected to proceed to tender later this year. A project at Coláiste Pobail Fóla at Citywest is also expected to proceed to tender later this year.

The Citywest campus project also includes a new 16-classroom primary school for Gaelscoil Lir. New 24-classroom primary school buildings are being provided for Scoil Áine Naofa and St. Thomas's National School, Lucan, as part of my Department's ADAPT 3 building programme, and the programme's project manager will shortly be commencing the process to appoint a design team for the project. Large-scale extensions at Divine Mercy junior and senior schools, Lucan, are currently at detailed design stage. A significant extension at St. Joseph's College, Lucan, is at construction. An extension at Lucan Community College was recently authorised to proceed to tender for the appointment of a building contractor.

Recently completed projects include a new 28-classroom school for Stewarts Hospital Special School, as the Deputy referenced, and a new 16-classroom primary school for Citywest Educate Together National School and Citywest and Saggart Community National School.

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for that response and those helpful updates. Her commitment to delivering for students in Dublin Mid-West is welcome and we all hope those tenders and construction projects go according to plan.

I will take the opportunity to put on the record the primary schools in my area that are also due new buildings. Those include Scoil Chrónáin in Rathcoole; St. Thomas's and Scoil Áine Naofa in Lucan, which are part of the ADAPT programme to accelerate delivery; Divine Mercy junior and senior in Balgaddy; the Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige campus, which will also deliver a PE hall for Coláiste Chillian; and Rathcoole Educate Together, another school open without a permanent building.

I cannot stress enough that speeding up the tender process would be transformative for many of the school building projects in my constituency. This seems to be the stage at which things grind to a halt. That needs to be addressed immediately if we are to turn things around for schools such as Holy Family Community School, Lucan Community College, Griffeen Community College and Coláiste Pobail Fóla.

On a positive note, St. Joseph's College in Lucan broke ground on its new school building three weeks ago, as the Minister noted. It was a long time coming but I was delighted to be there to celebrate the occasion with the principal, Ms Fitzgerald, and the wider school community. I cannot wait to be there for the grand opening when construction is complete. Seeing that work finally start has given the school a new lease of life and an excitement and hope for the future. That sense of excitement and hope for the future is what I want for all of the schools in my constituency. I know the Minister wants that too. I ask her to do everything in her power to deliver our new school buildings as quickly as possible because schools in Dublin Mid-West cannot wait much longer.

12:05 am

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy's particular interest in all matters related to education. I acknowledge a fairly significant commitment in that there are more than 30 large-scale and additional school accommodation scheme projects currently at various stages of planning and delivery for the Dublin Mid-West area. That is a positive story to present this evening. I have taken the opportunity to reference so many of them, in particular, the Clondalkin school campus, which is at tender stage. Other projects are at various stages. The Deputy referenced many of them, including Holy Family Community School, which will be a 1,000 pupil post-primary school that is expected to commence construction in 2023. She also noted the positive news for St. Joseph's, for example, and the breaking of ground. I know how important that visual, on-the-ground progress is. We also specifically referenced the expectation of proceeding to tender for Griffeen Community College, which will take place later this year. Coláiste Pobail Fóla will also go to tender this year. The Citywest campus project the Deputy referred to is significant and is part of the ADAPT 3 building programme. The project manager has now proceeded to appoint a design team for that project.

This is a significant investment by the Department and a major acknowledgement of the facilities that are required in the area, notwithstanding that schools are doing tremendous work with the facilities they currently have. We have an ambition to support them in moving forward with the facilities they might require for the future. It is comprehensive and very much an acknowledgement of the excellent work that is ongoing in the delivery of education that we are matching it with the provision of appropriate school buildings.