Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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This morning I would like to discuss Blessington Community College and its accommodation needs, not just for the upcoming school year but also in the future. Blessington Community College is the only secondary school in Blessington. It has 627 students currently enrolled. The number has doubled in the past nine years. It is an incredibly popular and successful school. Its projected intake for 2023 is 709 students, which is an increase of 82 students on the current intake. The enrolment of the school is predicted to be 900 by September 2027. The growth is based on actual figures from the 11 feeder schools in the area. The principal has gone around to each of the feeder schools and found out how many children are there and forward planned on that basis. This is a school that has experienced incredible growth in student numbers and that will continue to be the case.

Currently, the school is a labyrinth of Portakabins that have been added on over the years as the school has grown. The canteen was decommissioned in 2022 due to health and safety reasons and there is currently no canteen. There is no sports hall. The sports area has been reduced, as have the areas for science laboratories and home economics.

The school itself, despite being very popular and successful, is finding it difficult to meet the needs of the students. The thing is, a new school build was announced in 2018. Obviously, everyone in the school community, including the parents, students, teachers and principals were delighted to hear that announcement, but there has been no progress on it since 2018. There has not been a single movement towards turning the sod on that school. There are two issues I would like the Minister of State to address. The first is the very short-term immediate problems that are facing the school. What is the school going to do in 2023 with the students who have been enrolled, because it does not have capacity for them at the moment? I understand that the Department has granted an ASA for an additional six Portakabins to go onto the site. Unfortunately, the school has no timeline as to when that will happen. It is now March, and as the Minister of State is aware, these projects can take considerable time. The school is starting to get concerned, as are the parents, that those buildings will not be in place for August in order to have that intake coming in. If the Minister of State could provide a timeline on the delivery of the temporary emergency accommodation that is required for the school, that would be very useful.

The second issue is the build itself. First we have to deal with the emergency situation, but the school does need a new building. The Department initially said that it was looking at a 650-student school building, which would not even meet the current needs. The school wants a 1,000-student school building. My understanding is that the Department is considering that and a review is under way. I ask the Minister of State to give me some indication as to where that review is at, when the school will be notified of the outcomes of that review and a tangible timeline for when the school will see those buildings actually put in place to enable the school to plan for the future.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Education. It provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current position in relation to the accommodation needs of Blessington Community College.

A major capital project for Blessington Community College is being addressed through the Department’s construction programme. As the Deputy is aware, this project is currently at stage 2b of the architectural planning process. That is where the detailed design takes place, planning permission and other statutory approvals are secured and tender documents are prepared. It is fair to say that to increase the total capacity of the school to 650 pupils, plus two special classes, is a major extension. That is obviously of interest to me in my capacity as Minister of State with responsibility for special education. The school and the patron have requested an increase in the proposed size of the school to 1,000 pupils. My understanding is that that is under active consideration by the Department and would include an associated increase in special class provision. I hear what the Deputy is saying when she outlines the anticipated figures into the future. The school had around 479 pupils in 2018, and as the Deputy said, there are now 627 pupils. I note the projections she is making into the future.

In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, GIS, using data from a range of sources, including child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level. Current and planned residential development activity, as well as Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets, additionally inform the Department’s forecasts of school place needs. In its planning ahead for 2023, the Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in relation to capital funding in order to support the operation of the school system with roll-out of school building projects to construction in 2023. Blessington Community College is among the many school accommodation needs across the country being considered as part of the process. I understand that the Department will be in further contact with Kildare Wicklow Education and Training Board, KWETB, in relation to the college itself. The Department is currently considering the long-term capacity requirements in the Blessington area, taking existing demographics into account, as well as future and current residential developments. Schools that are being built need to take into account the longer term needs of an area and the immediate school requirements. I understand that the officials will continue to engage with KWETB in this regard. A solution to address the school's accommodation needs is also being progressed. The Department has been working with KWETB to ensure that there is sufficient accommodation in place to meet the interim needs of the school, pending the delivery of the main project.

Specifically on the Minister of State's query around temporary accommodation, I understand that additional modular accommodation was approved. However, concerns were raised by the patron, the board of management and the architects that as the site is restricted, the installation of additional accommodation would hinder the permanent school build. Following a meeting with the Department, the school reviewed its requirements and confirmed that the four refurbished existing prefabs and the two prefabs from another patron owned site would be sufficient until the delivery of the first phase of the permanent accommodation.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Unfortunately, I did not hear any new information from the Minister of State there. It is true that the school has completely pared back its requirements for temporary accommodation to the point where it is just refurbishing four Portakabins and putting in two new ones. Despite that, there is still no indication that this will be in place for September 2023 when it is needed. The school and parents are getting worried. It is getting to the point where the school may have to reconsider offering parents those places because it cannot guarantee that the building will be in place.

The Minister of State mentioned the special education needs rooms, and there are two of them in the school. They were finalised last October and have been sitting empty since then. The two Portakabins are ready to go and need some sort of certificate finalised, but that has still not happened. The buildings are there and four months later they have not been handed over to the school and opened. The school is understandably very worried about the lack of timelines and actual information as to when these Portakabins will be finished and whether or not they will be in place for August this year.

The Minister of State has also not provided any timelines in relation to the new build. That is of a concern. Four years ago, in 2018, there was a big announcement and all the Government Deputies were out congratulating themselves and patting themselves on the back that this was being done, and there has not been anything done since. In fact, the Department has delayed so long that the school build that was previously designed is no longer going to be suitable. It is looking at increasing the capacity of it. The school and the parents need information. I really hope the Minister of State asks the Minister to start putting things down on paper for them. I know that all the Deputies from Wicklow have written to the Department. We would like to meet with the Department in relation to this because we need to see movement on it.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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In terms of the Deputy's request, I am sure the Department is listening into this debate. I will certainly bring the Deputy's request back to the Department. On the issue of temporary accommodation, as the Deputy is probably aware, funding of €556,150 was recently approved for temporary accommodation. Talking specifically about timelines, I do not have the information here. That is something that the planning and building unit will have. The Deputy will appreciate that notwithstanding the wider construction environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues, the Department has still a strong track record of delivery. It delivered 180 school building projects during 2022, and 273 still remained under construction coming into 2023. Most of those will be completed this year. I know that the planning and building unit within the Department is currently assessing its work programme and its priorities for 2023 in the context of available funding. I can understand the concerns that the Deputy has in relation to this school building project, the fact that there is an increasing demographic and that there are projections that there are children who will need accommodation in a school in their locality, notwithstanding the special education part of this and the fact that there are two rooms there that are currently not being utilised.

There are children who will need accommodation in a school in their locality, notwithstanding the special education aspect and the fact there are two rooms that are not currently being utilised. I am not sure whether the school has received the sanction it needs from the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The Deputy may follow up with me on that if she so wishes. I do not want to see a situation in which rooms in schools that offer capacity for children with additional needs are not being used. The sooner we can progress this matter, the better. The project is at stage 2B of the architectural planning process and I hope it will progress further in early course.