Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I want to raise the issue of the need for temporary accommodation for both Temple Carrig School in Greystones, and Blessington Community College in Blessington. It is nine weeks until students will return to secondary school for the 2023-24 academic year, and neither Temple Carrig School nor Blessington Community College has sufficient accommodation to house the intake that is due this August and September. Both schools have been searching and asking the Department for information as to when the promised and committed temporary accommodation will be made available to them. As the Minister of State can imagine, the schools, the parents and the students are getting very concerned about this delay.

Temple Carrig School has agreed to take extra students in since 2020. It has increased its capacity significantly and, as a result, the Department committed to it that it would provide it with four temporary classrooms to accommodate those students. The school ran two procurement processes that were requested by the Department in order to obtain that accommodation and those classrooms, and each time the school was told the Department had either changed the goalposts or did not agree with the procurement process. The school has therefore spent a year doing what the Department has asked it to do, and each time the Department has changed the process and changed its opinion on it. As a result, the school now does not have accommodation for September because of difficulties, flaws and delays within the Department's process. This has nothing to do with the school; no fault at all is attached to it. It did everything correctly and did everything the Department asked it to do, but the Department changed its mind as to what it wanted in that procurement.

The Department has said subsequently that it would obtain accommodation from another school in Donabate and move it to Temple Carrig School but it still cannot say when that will happen. All it is saying is that it will probably be after the first mid-term break. That is not acceptable. It is not acceptable for the Department to work with a school, to ask it to take in extra students, to make a commitment that accommodation will be provided for them, to request that the school put a huge amount of effort into running procurement processes, to change the goalposts and now, when the school is left without sufficient accommodation, not even to tell the school when the temporary accommodation will be put in. What is even more remarkable is that there is temporary accommodation in a neighbouring school that one could spend literally half a day moving up to Temple Carrig School, yet the Department wants these prefabs to come from Donabate, which will take a number of months for some reason.

The Minister of State's Department has had three weeks to prepare the response to this Topical Issue because it has been three weeks since I first raised this. I really hope the Minister of State has come to me today with dates as to when both these schools will have their temporary accommodation because parents and schools need certainty on that.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an ábhar seo a chur mar shaincheist sa Dáil. It provides me with an opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, who cannot be here this morning, to outline the current position in respect of capital projects to deliver replacement and additional accommodation for Blessington Community College and Temple Carrig School under the reconfiguration and modular accommodation programme.

With respect to Blessington Community College, the school authority, which is Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, KWETB, applied to the Department for additional accommodation under the additional school accommodation scheme to cater for increased enrolment pending delivery of its major capital project to cater for an agreed long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pupils. Approval was granted to the school authority for the replacement of four existing prefabricated units, which were in poor condition and unused, and for a further two general classrooms, which will provide Blessington Community College with a total of six additional general classrooms. The project as outlined is being delivered under the Department of Education's devolved reconfiguration and modular accommodation programme. That programme is a new stream under the additional school accommodation scheme, which provides the services of a project manager to help the school authority with delivery. That approach supports accelerated delivery of the accommodation and maximises help for the school authority for the delivery of the brief.

The project for Blessington Community College will be delivered from the Department's procurement frameworks, which offer schools the option to provide and deliver a turnkey project with efficiency in terms of timelines, experience and tried and tested service with professional design teams and contractors. Projects delivered under this scheme are devolved to school authorities under the terms and conditions of the scheme, and it is a matter for schools to progress these projects on that basis, subject to departmental review at various points in the process. I wish to point out that under this programme the number of stages has been minimised to ensure efficiency of delivery while maintaining the necessary governance structure. The process for this programme is that the project manager visits the school site and, in consultation with the school authority, prepares a viability report to identify the best accommodation solution for submission to the Department for consideration and approval. On approval, the Department notifies the school authority that it may proceed to the next stage subject to its agreement of the final project brief, which is confirmed by signing a form of acceptance. On receipt of the form of acceptance, the Department issues the first tranche of three stages of funding.

The school authority, in conjunction with its project manager, can then appoint contractors and works can commence.

I am pleased to confirm that significant progress has been made to date on the urgent provision of school accommodation for Blessington Community College. The assigned project manager has carried out a site visit and has held a number of meetings with the school authority. A suitable site location has been identified for the new accommodation. While the school authority, KWETB, has overall responsibility for delivery of the project, officials from the Department of Education hold weekly meetings with the assigned project managers to ensure this project remains on track for delivery in the next academic year.

With regard to Temple Carrig School, the school authority made an application for additional accommodation under the additional school accommodation scheme to cater for increased enrolment, pending delivery of its capital budget. This project is approved and is being delivered under the Department's devolved reconfiguration and modular accommodation programme. The brief for the modular accommodation project is to provide four general classrooms to cater for the school's increased enrolment for September 2023. The Department has identified suitable modular accommodation to be relocated to Temple Carrig School, as the Deputy has outlined. The delivery of this project has also been devolved to the school authority, which has overall responsibility for the delivery of the project, and it will be helped by an assigned project manager. The project is currently at detailed design stage and preparation of statutory applications with an estimated completion date for the 2023-24 school year.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Given that the Minister of State knew this question was going to be put to him, I cannot believe he has not come in here to tell me that both of these schools will have the accommodation they need in place for September this year. No dates and no firm commitments have been given. What is plan B? What happens if that accommodation is not provided? Schools are talking about putting in remote learning solutions and dropping back to four-day weeks. Is that what the Department expects schools to do to cater for the number of children enrolled? It is completely unacceptable.

The Minister of State said that the KWETB project in Blessington is on track for delivery in the next academic year. Does that mean it is not on track for September? Does it mean that the Department has now stated it will not be in place in September?

The Minister of State said of the Temple Carrig School project that the overall responsibility is with the school. Is it up to Temple Carrig School to go to Donabate and move that temporary accommodation to County Wicklow? Is that now the role of schools? Are they movers for the Department of Education?

This response is unacceptable. It indicates to me that the level of bureaucracy means an enormous amount of time and energy is being spent going through all these processes and steps. All the schools are looking for is the simple provision of four classrooms each. That is all they are looking for. Surely the Department should be in a position to say it will ensure the accommodation, which it has asked the schools to provide for students, will be in place when the students start at the school. Surely that is all that is needed.

Will the Minister of State please give me a commitment that both of these schools will have the temporary accommodation they need in place for September? If he cannot give that commitment, will he please outline what he expects schools to do, what is plan B and how will schools accommodate the students who are enrolled for September?

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, I reassure the House that her Department is committed to the accelerated provision of the urgent school accommodation the Deputy has talked about for Blessington Community College and Temple Carrig School.

In the wider context, the Department of Education is conscious of the urgency in providing accelerated delivery of school accommodation at both schools. Officials in the Department are working closely with both school authorities and the assigned project managers to ensure timely delivery of the accommodation. The provision of school accommodation to meet the need for school places, both mainstream and for students with special educational needs, is a priority for the Department.

I know the Deputy has suggested that perhaps there is too much bureaucracy or too many processes. I outlined earlier that we have tried to reduce these processes but the Deputy will know that these processes, some of which are statutory, are absolutely necessary to be complied with. If the Department did not comply, there would be issues. To be clear, the provision of accommodation to meet the need for school places is an absolute priority for the Department.

Department officials will continue to work with both schools and the project managers who have been assigned to deliver the required accommodation we know is needed in those schools.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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To be fully clear, will the accommodation be in place for both schools for September?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.