Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
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Táim an-bhuíoch den Aire as an seans labhairt faoi Ghaelscoil Cholmcille, a bunaíodh in 1996. Gaelscoil Cholmcille was founded in 1996. Its first years were spent in the upstairs rooms of the football club St. Kevin’s in Santry, Dublin 9. It is a very successful Gaelscoil and has a great academic reputation.

It is a very popular choice for parents in the area. More than 80% of its pupils live within 2 miles of the Gaelscoil due to its popularity. Unfortunately, the school has to turn away a large number of local children due to the lack of spaces in the school.

In 2008, the school moved into temporary accommodation at its present location in Coolock Lane. This accommodation consists of fast-build prefab-like structures. The Gaelscoil was promised at the time that this move would last for a maximum of five years and that a permanent school building with all of the necessary amenities would be built to accommodate the it. Tá an scoil ag feitheamh 17 mbliana ar fhoirgneamh nua. There is not even proper road signage outside the school to identify that it is there. In itself, this is hazardous for parents, pupils and staff. In fact, there have been a number of incidents and near misses and one serious accident outside the school.

Due to the fact that these are temporary structures not designed for long-term use, the Department continues to waste money on emergency works to keep them operable. The school is basically firefighting because maintenance problems continually arise. One January a few years ago, the boiler failed and there was no heat in the school for the whole of that month. The Department of Education ended up spending €50,000 to replace it. The building is so old that the school cannot replace bulbs in the lighting fixtures and has to spend a lot of money replacing the fixtures in their entirety. The school's plumbing is progressively failing. Every year, money is being spent on replacing pipes, fixing water heaters and general maintenance. Tomorrow, someone is due to visit the school to survey it for the installation of solar panels, another potential huge expenditure in respect of a structure that was supposed to be temporary.

There has been much back and forth about a permanent site for the school. The management was originally told that the site next door would be where the new school would be built. This was discounted because, apparently, the area was designated as a no-fly zone. A swap was then discussed between Dublin City Council and Department of Education in respect of another parcel of land nearer to Oscar Traynor Road. This was discussed for years without any decision being made on the proposal. Even if a decision is made on where the building would be built, it could still take at least another five years for a brick to be laid once all the planning processes and so on are completed.

In 2004, my former colleague Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin raised this matter with the then Minister for Education. In 2017, it was raised again as a Topical Issue. In 2018, the parents put up three billboards at the entrance to the school to highlight their campaign for a permanent structure when the Minister for Education paid the school a visit. This has been an ongoing campaign, and parents and staff are very frustrated that no decision has been made regarding a site for a permanent building. Tá naoi seomra sa scoil agus thart ar 274 dalta. Tá siad ag lorg 16 seomra agus cúpla seomra speisialta san fhoirgneamh nua.

This situation is unfair to the staff, the pupils and to the parents. If the Department really cares about staff and pupil well-being, it needs to make a decision on a site for the construction of a permanent school that has the basic facilities a school needs, such as a sports hall and buildings that can accommodate the growing and diverse needs of its pupils.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can hear the Deputy's frustration loud and clear about the fact this issue has gone on for a long time. It has been raised by him, by Deputy McAuliffe and by others in this Chamber on multiple occasions.

I am here to take this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. Quite a lengthy response has been provided, but I will skip to the bit that is going to be of most interest to the Deputy. He spoke about confusion over the site. What I have today is confirmation that an agreement is in place with Dublin City Council regarding a proposed land swap. This will facilitate any future development relating to the school based on the outcome of the national energy and conditions survey, evolving demographic requirement and allocated capital funds. As the Deputy may be aware, the Department is examining demographic requirements across the country including in the context of current and planned residential development activity. Any major capital works for Gaelscoil Cholmcille will be considered in the context of the review of demographics for the Beaumont-Coolock Dublin 5 school planning area.

As the Deputy will be well aware, Gaelscoil Cholmcille is a primary school in Coolock under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta. The school had an enrolment in September 2024 of 221 pupils. The school has a current staffing allocation of a principal, ten mainstream class teachers, two special education teacher posts and one shared SET post. The school is located in the Beaumont-Coolock Dublin 5 school planning area. There are currently ten primary schools in this school planning area, with Gaelscoil Cholmcille being the only school providing all-Irish-medium education.

All applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. The priority of the Department continues to be the provision of required additional school places to meet demographic requirements as well as for children with special educational needs. The Department is required to manage the allocated capital funding across all schools in the country. The Department’s approach is to maximise the usage of existing capacity in schools and, in tandem with this, to manage the progression of the existing pipeline of projects within available budgets and in line with the Government’s infrastructure guidelines. The Department can identify opportunities to transform existing schools as part of energy retrofit projects, and the Department’s pathfinder programme has been developing effective solutions in this regard, as we plan for a future wider roll out.

The plan for working this through at national scale will be informed by the outcome of an energy and condition survey of all schools which is currently under way and is due for completion by the middle of next year. The subsequent analysis of this significant amount of data will take some time but it will help determine priorities going forward in respect of retrofitting and refurbishment projects. The overall process is particularly valuable in facilitating a proportionate assessment of a school's accommodation upgrade needs relative to all other schools, and allowing effective prioritisation of capital investment. Prioritising allows the Department to keep a strong focus on the provision of additional capacity to cater for demographics, new housing developments and the roll-out of additional special classes for children with additional needs. This approach reflects the Department's fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.

The pace of delivery of additional residential developments in school planning areas like the Deputy's, along with the updated enrolment and demographic data, needs to be kept under review and to inform strategies. As stated, we have confirmation now that an agreement is in place with Dublin City Council regarding a proposed land swap for this school. I hope that is welcome news to the Deputy, to Deputy McAuliffe, to the parents and to the school community.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am delighted that the land swap has been agreed, there but I am worried about the Minister of State's comment to the effect that there are a lot of surveys to be done. The Oscar Traynor Woods complex is right beside the school. Some 895 apartments and houses are being built there. In nearby Whitehall, Santry and Coolock, vast numbers of apartments are also being built. It is an absolute necessity to get this school going. I know the Minister of State is saying it will take until the middle of next year. People have been waiting more than 19 years for this. It is getting to the point of ridiculousness that we have not got any further. I hope the Minister will listen and speed up this process.

Tá an scoil seo an-cháiliúil ar fad agus tá sí ag dul chun cinn freisin. Tá a lán páistí ag feitheamh ar áit sa scoil seo agus tá liosta feithimh fada ann. It is really frustrating that we have such a long list of people waiting to get into the school. We need the 16 classrooms that are going to be built there. At present we have nine and it is not enough. We need to get this moving. If anyone values the Irish language, this is an opportunity to put in place the facilities that are required in this area. The demand is there. Tá an-éileamh sa cheantar seo ar Ghaelscoil Cholmcille.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta. The Government absolutely values the Irish language. We have had a record level of investment in school buildings this year again. This will increase the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact will be felt in communities right across the country, including in the Deputy's constituency.

The key drivers of capital investment in the school sector are going to include demographic growth, particularly at post-primary level. Demographic growth absolutely covers the Oscar Traynor Woods site the Deputy has spoken about and all the new homes and families we will be welcoming there. Increased demand for special education needs provision will also be one of the key drivers.

So, too, will the alignment of school place provision with new housing developments, such as Oscar Traynor, and climate action objectives, including deep energy retrofit. The programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the national development plan process. The Department is committed to continuing to update An Foras Pátrúnachta in relation to the factors influencing capital investment for the new school, Gaelscoil Cholmcille.