Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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64. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expedite the building process for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14310/23]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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We still do not have a list of those 58 schools that are experiencing building delays.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The schools are aware themselves, as is appropriate.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I want to ask the Minister about a particular school that has an ongoing issue with its school building project, which is Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in Donaghmede. Can she expedite the building process for this school and will she make a statement on the matter?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The project referred to by the Deputy is at tender stage. The project brief is for the construction of a 600-pupil, two-storey, post-primary school building, including general classrooms, specialist classrooms, assembly hall and all ancillary accommodation. The stage 2b submission for this project was approved in September 2021. Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board and its design team were authorised to proceed to tender upon completion of the pre-qualification process in October 2022. With the original planning permission close to expiring, a decision was made that a new planning application to incorporate additional elements, such as traffic management, was required for the project. This was lodged with Dublin City Council on 26 January 2023. Dublin City Council has since requested that the entire application be recommenced and resubmitted with the additional information. This planning application was resubmitted on 9 March. This project was approved to go to tender in October 2022 but is currently on hold to proceed due to capital funding pressures and the requirement to submit a new planning permission.

My Department's published national development plan allocation for 2023 is €860 million. High construction inflation remains a continuing feature of the construction sector for 2023. Given the Department’s strong track record in recent years in delivering the school building programme, and our full utilisation of our budget every year, there is no margin to absorb inflationary pressures. As I have stated, my Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on capital funding pressures to continue to adequately support the operation of the school system with the roll-out of school building projects to construction in 2023.

I am appreciative of the support and engagement which has been offered by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and by the Minister in this regard. We are currently at an advanced stage with the discussions. Progress has been made and I am anxious to bring this to a resolution quickly. I reassure the Deputy and the relevant school communities that school building projects that are on hold due to capital funding pressures will be progressed and delivered. I am well aware of the urgency in getting these projects delivered as quickly as possible. We will be providing an update to individual schools as soon as possible. In tandem with this, the Department’s planning and building unit will also be updating patron bodies and school management bodies at that stage.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I will return to the wider issue shortly. If the Minister was to visit Gaelcholáiste Reachrann she would be taken aback at the poor state of the buildings in which the young people are learning, which has been an ongoing issue for years. It is one of the only Gaelcholáistí on the north side of Dublin and it services quite a number of Gaelscoileanna, including one which I attended, Gaelscoil Míde. The spirit and enthusiasm of the school community is completely undermined by the State of the buildings.

I invited the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy O'Donovan, during a debate on the Irish language, to visit the school. It is one thing to make positive contributions in this House on the state of the Irish language and on what we believe in when it comes to the Irish language but it is another thing to visit a school that needs a drastic overhaul and drastic investment. I invite the Minister, therefore, to visit the school and see what can be done. She outlined the planning process but the enthusiasm and vision of this school's community is not being matched by the same level of enthusiasm or vision from the Department.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I do not for one minute underestimate the enthusiasm of the school or the good work it does every day with its students and the wider school community. Confirmation of that and of the excellence of the delivery there every day are represented by the determination of the Department to deliver on this project. I have no issue, at an appropriate time, with taking the opportunity to visit the school.

As I said, a new planning application has been submitted on the school. I want to be fair also when it comes to the constraints we have on funding but that is part of an ambitious programme of delivery that the Department has across the country. We have been impacted by a variety of different issues, including the war in Ukraine and the cost of materials. We must also make provision for more than 15,000 students from Ukraine and accelerate special educational needs provision. These are all things that everybody wanted us to do.

We are in positive discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and I am confident that those discussions will come to a positive conclusion in as fast a time as possible. I want to confirm again that this project, along with other projects, will proceed. We await the additional funding for same.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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A turf or trench war between the Departments of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and Education is of no comfort to those who have concerns about the conditions in which their children are learning. As has been said, to anybody watching in the stark assurance given by the Taoiseach to my party leader, Deputy Bacik, on Tuesday, that these projects will be recommenced this year, is different to the reassurance the Minister has given this morning. The terminology is marked in its difference.

On Gaelcholáiste Reachrann, I appreciate the Minister's intention to visit the school because the Irish language cannot survive in an area like the north side of Dublin, which I represent, if when the children learning and experiencing, enjoying and loving the language look around them they see a level of disinterest from those who should enhance that experience. I will appreciate the Minister visiting the school to listen to the principal and the school community about how the Department can be of help. However, talking about negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will be of cold comfort to those who are experiencing these poor facilities.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I support the Minister. We can focus on the discussions but I heard the Minister repeat continuously that those negotiations and discussions are going positively. Deputy Ó Ríordáin knows about the tictacking that necessarily goes on between Departments. I look at my constituency of Dublin South-West and the projects needed there, including Gaelscoileanna like Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, which we were waiting for 25 years and which the Minister has delivered. Another six or seven school projects have opened during the lifetime of the Government.

People need to be positive and take the Minister at her word. While I am on my feet I must also plead for my constituency.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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On a point of order, is it regular for a Government Deputy to contribute without asking a question and to give a statement in support of the Minister?

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy indicated he would contribute so I assumed-----

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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The Minister is quite able to speak for herself.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy has overstepped.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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There is no question. No question is being asked of the Minister.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy indicated he would ask a question.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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He is eating into the time of others.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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He indicated he had a question about Dublin 13. If he had other issues he should have submitted a question. I will move on to the Minister to reply.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Under Standing Orders I am entitled to contribute on a question.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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The Deputy is not asking a question.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy is not speaking on a point relevant to the question.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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The Minister can speak for herself and the Deputy is eating into other people's time.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am coming in on the general question Deputy Ó Ríordáin asked-----

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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In fairness-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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-----but that is beside the point.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister to conclude.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am entitled to contribute. If the Deputy had allowed me to, I would have got to my question.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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However, you did not. You were given 30 seconds. You decided to go down a different road.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thought I had a minute. Under Standing Orders I have a minute.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister to conclude.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I confirm once again that the projects that have been paused will go ahead. We are in constructive engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. The delays are a consequence of our ambitious programme. More than 300 projects are to be completed this year or in early 2024, in addition to the 180 projects completed last year. Our Department, similar to other Departments, has been challenged by many of the issues that have impacted on wider society including the cost of materials due to the war in Ukraine; as I have already stated, the additional number of students who we absolutely welcome into our schools - more than 15,000 of them are from Ukraine; and the excellent and most important availability of special educational needs, SEN, places, all of which I believe every Member of the House would support. I acknowledge there are capital challenges, but I also acknowledge in the midst of those challenges, we are benefactors of positive engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, notwithstanding the challenges that Department has across a variety of sectors. The engagement is positive. It is going well. It is my intention, hope and expectation that engagement will conclude as quickly as possible. I reiterate the absolute commitment of the Department of Education to each of these projects going ahead.