Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue matter. We are increasingly a country of waiting lists. We have shocking waiting lists for social housing of up to 20 years in my area and we have shocking waiting lists for surgery in our health service. Gaelscoil Phádraig in Loughlinstown has possibly endured the longest wait of all, which is not a record it is happy with. It has waited 27 years for a permanent school building, which is almost unbelievable.

The school has been accommodated in prefabs on a 0.7 acre site for 27 years. Many of the prefabs date back to 2005, others to 2007 and a few are a little bit newer than that. Many pupils have gone through their entire primary school lives in prefabs, without a school hall and without the facilities we would expect for school plays and indoor sports activities. They have been in prefabs for all of that time. The reason for the delay is that they are waiting to move into the school building that is occupied by a special school, which in turn is waiting for completion of one of the 58 projects for which it was recently announced there would be further delays.

The Minister of State can imagine how gut-wrenching this is for Gaelscoil Phádraig, the pupils, teachers, school community and parents, after a 27-year wait and repeated promises that the construction of the Ballyowen Meadows Special School building would free up the building it is supposed to move into to finally get their school. That is not the case, however, and there is to be further delay. They have had promise after promise. For example, in 2020, the school met officials from the Department of Education's building unit and it was assured at that time that the project would drive ahead and construction would begin by the end of 2020. Still nothing has happened. Now it has heard that there will be a further delay and again it does not know what will happen.

The school will have its 30th anniversary in 2025 and at this stage it still does not know if, after 30 years of existence, it will be in its permanent school home by that time. This story could not be made up. That is a shocking, despicable and unacceptable way to treat this school, which, by the way, is a DEIS band 2 school in Loughlinstown, an area of significant disadvantage. The latest reply to a parliamentary question I received on this issue just the other day did not provide a commitment or clear timeline for when the school will gets its permanent building. The school wants to hear that there will be no further delay and it will be in its permanent school building before it reaches its 30th anniversary.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and I appreciate his frustration. As he said, this has been going on for 27 years. Although this matter is not directly under my remit, I have a particular interest in it because the delivery of Gaelscoil Phádraig is being impacted by the delay in progressing the project at Ballyowen Meadows Special School. As Minister of State with responsibility for special education, that is of concern to me.

I am confident that additional funding will be provided and I know that discussions are at an advanced stage between the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to make sure that projects like this go ahead. It seems to me like an unconscionable delay. It is unfortunate, when the Deputy references a meeting held back in 2020, that Covid then came into the equation. That is something that was not envisaged at the time the Department gave assurances to the school. Not alone that, but we also had a major increase in demographics, construction costs and inflation and a ramping up of additional capacity for children with additional needs and Ukrainian pupils. All of those factors together have resulted in the Department being under major pressure.

The Department received €300 million in additional funding in 2022, which helped to alleviate the capital funding issue in that year. I have no doubt the issue will be resolved for this year as well. The strong level of delivery is a key driver of capital pressures in the Department. In addition to the normal school budgetary processes, there are the other factors I outlined.

I have been working closely on this issue with the Taoiseach and the Ministers for Education and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and they are aware of my concerns. I am assured, and I reassure the Deputy and the relevant school communities, that any buildings on hold due to capital funding pressures will be progressed and delivered. It is just a question of timing. I know that may be of cold comfort to the Deputy and the school after waiting 27 years but I am well aware of the urgency of this project and the other projects that are outstanding. The outcome of our continued engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will provide better clarity on the timelines for the progression of these projects. This project is of key concern to me.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is grimly ironic that the response of the Government and the Minister of State is that it is "a question of timing". Talk about stating the bleeding obvious. It has been 27 years so it is exactly a question of timing and it is beyond belief that a school could be waiting for 27 years.

We often hear Ministers trumpeting the fact that they have approved new schools and so on. What we do not often hear is that schools do not have permanent buildings and in some cases they do not have any buildings at all. That this has been going on for 27 years is beyond shocking. I do not understand where the funding hold-up is. Every time there are announcements of Government tax revenue figures, we hear they are at record levels. There are enormous amounts of money available to this Government, especially now, and I simply do not understand how the money cannot be made available to progress the Ballyowen Meadows Special School project, thereby ensuring that Gaelscoil Phádraig gets into its permanent school building.

Let us think about this. As there is no school hall, extracurricular or indoor sports activity for these pupils are gone if it rains. In many cases, classes are in decrepit prefabs and the school is terrified to get new prefabs because if it does, it might wait even longer because the Department will decide the school is grand because it has new prefabs. Some of these prefabs have been there since 2005.

All of the 58 schools deserve a commitment but a school that has been waiting for 27 years needs a commitment now. It deserves a commitment that there will be no delay, that this will proceed and that it will be in its permanent school location on its 30th anniversary.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that, no more than any other school, Gaelscoil Phádraig, which has 145 pupils, deserves to be properly housed in adequate and appropriate accommodation. I know the negotiations and discussions between the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform are at an advanced stage and I have been assured by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, that the issue will be sorted out in early course.

There were 180 school building projects delivered in 2022 and over 300 building projects were under construction at the start of 2023.

It is important to note the current construction environment is challenging, as the Deputy can appreciate. It can be difficult at times to attract strong interest from contractors and get them to stand over tender prices for projects proceeding to construction. Notwithstanding that, we are doing everything we can to ensure we can deliver these projects as soon as possible. I give the Deputy my assurance about that.