Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I cannot believe I am about to say this, but right now on Dominick Street, in the heart of Dublin city centre, stands a half-built school that should be opening its doors in September. A Gaelscoil that was promised, planned and funded now lies idle behind hoardings. What is worse is the silence.

This is not a new school project. The project is a result of a 23-year struggle by parents, educators and children who fought year after year for a proper building. The community built the school from scratch in 1988 and has since seen generations of children go to school to learn in their native language in conditions that no child should ever have to learn in. Let us call this what it is. It is a failure of delivery, of care and, at this point, of respect.

I heard the principal raise concerns for over a year. I watched departmental officials assure everyone, in the clearest of terms, that the new building would be open by the 2025-26 school year. That commitment was made not just to the board of management of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, but also to 170 pupils and their families. Right now, the project has been paused. The site is silent. The cranes are still. The community has been left in the dark while a conciliation process plays out behind closed doors.

Yesterday we were told it is not known where the children are going to go to school. They will go to a building that was entirely unsuitable on Parnell Square to one that is only slightly more suitable, an interim solution on Cathal Brugha Street. That is not progress for the parents, families, children and the generations that went before them, and those who want to teach. It is an insult. We do not know if the building on Cathal Brugha Street will have any special classes. We know children will have to leave four times a day on their lunch break to walk from Cathal Brugha Street to Scoil Chaitríona for yard play in a school based in the Department of Education and Youth. I hope every official who looks out the window will see the failure of the State in respect of those children.

The original budget was €1 million and is now estimated at over €22 million. The delays have been blamed on unforeseen complications, namely protected structures, Luas lines and underground utilities, but anyone who knows the site knows those circumstances were not unforeseen. Rather, they were ignored. They were baked into the bones of the city and should have been built into the plan.

How did we go from a sod-turning ceremony in June 2023 to a stalled project in July 2025? That does not suggest urgency or oversight. This is not just about a school; this is about what happens when a community like ours, a working-class community which is resilient in a way in which very few others could even comprehend and wishes children to learn in the Irish language in an inner-city school, asks for something other communities take for granted, namely a proper school building, a safe and permanent space to learn and a place of pride. Instead, there has been a delay, a doubling of costs, empty timelines and another round of temporary accommodation.

I am sure the Minister of State has a response, but I hope it includes the answers to my questions. When will construction restart? Is there a date? What has the conciliation process uncovered? It is now important that we share those findings. Contract sensitivity does not come into play when the contract has ceased. Will the Department publish a new delivery timeline? Can the Minister of State assure us that will be adhered to? When does the new tender process start? Who is accountable for the doubling of the budget to €22 million and, I presume, counting?

This is not criticism for the sake of it. Most public representatives in Dublin Central have held back for obvious reasons, but that will no longer happen. This is about standing up for children and families who have been more patient than any of us could ask for. They have been more resilient than any of us could comprehend. Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire not just a line on a spreadsheet; it is a symbol of what the city can be, namely multilingual, diverse, proud of its culture and committed to its children. It deserves better than hoarding. At this point, there is absolute silence. We will continue to raise this issue every day if necessary until the parents, children and education community get the answers they deserve because they have been failed incredibly badly by the State.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position regarding the major building project for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square. The Minister and the Department of Education and Youth are fully committed to delivering a new school building for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire as quickly as possible. Department officials are in regular contact with the school authorities, meeting approximately every six weeks or more frequently when required.

The Minister and her Department are committed to continuing this support for the school. This project is included in the Department's construction programme and is being delivered under the national development plan as part of Project Ireland 2040. A number of issues arose on site at the outset, which is not unusual given the nature of a brownfield city centre site, but this led to a delay. While all parties actively engaged to discuss and resolve the issues and to reduce any risk to the programme, these unforeseen matters did lead to a delay.

In response to issues on the site, the Department sanctioned the appointment of a project manager on the project, who has engaged with the design team and contractor to minimise project delays on the programme and ensure clear lines of communication were in operation. The appointed project manager developed various proposals and strategies to remedy any issues impacting the programme, realigning the full project team roles and agreeing the project delivery timelines and goals.

Good progress was initially made following the project manager’s intervention in the summer of 2024 to the end of the year, with significant visible progress being made on the structure.

However, since Christmas the project issues have intensified. The Department has had ongoing engagement with the contractor and the design team to resolve these issues. As a result, the Department entered into a conciliation hearing to try to reach agreement on a solution to ensure the earliest possible delivery of the school while respecting its statutory obligations.

In accordance with standard practice and contractual requirements, the conciliation process is of a confidential nature. A temporary pause on works under the suspension of works provisions of the contract provided an opportunity to consider outcomes from the conciliation process. A notice of suspension of works was communicated to the contractor on 23 May 2025 in accordance with the provisions of the contract. During the suspension, the Department carefully considered the best way to deliver a school building while also respecting its statutory obligations. A notice of termination was issued under the contract on 1 July 2025 following careful consideration of the need to ensure compliance with those statutory obligations. Department officials will continue to work closely with the school principal and board of management.

As an interim measure, the Department is providing accommodation more suitable to the current needs of the school nearby on Cathal Brugha Street. I am informed the school has provided information to parents recently about these next steps for the school. Some small-scale refurbishment works at the building will provide a good interim accommodation solution for the school and include teaching and learning spaces for all the classes, education support and sensory spaces, adequate meeting and office spaces, a staff room, a communal area and access to a safe outdoor space for students. It is anticipated the school will move into the new premises after the October 2025 mid-term break. The Minister and the Department are fully committed to delivering a school building for this school as soon as possible.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I listened to the Minister of State's reply intently. I was hoping to get answers to some of the questions. The Cathal Brugha Street site the school is moving into is barely suitable, if even that, for a school community, but it is expected to move in there in September. The contract on that school Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire has been given is to June 2027.

The Minister of State has just told me some complications can be expected in a city-centre site. It is really important that we get the outcome of the conciliation process to understand what exactly went wrong. If these unforeseen complications are happening at a city-centre site, what exactly were they? Was it the Luas line? We understand there are going to be underground issues in the city centre but they were not factored in or considered. I was in the room when the principal raised this with Department officials and asked would it be an issue. I stood in rooms for a year while the school was assured consistently it would be in the building it deserved by 2025. We know that is not a normal school at the moment. It has had to deal with issues very few of us could even comprehend and what it deserved from the State was truth along the way.

There is no space for us to say there are contractual obligations at the same time the Department has told us it is no longer in a contract. We need full information. When is it expected the tender will go out? If the previous builder is going to take a court case, will that delay the tendering? We have a situation where there is a contract for Cathal Brugha Street until 2027. I have a community in the north inner city and surrounds which wants to be able to learn and teach its children through the medium of Irish. That should be a minimum, but what it has had to endure over 23 years is an insult from the State. All the school requires now is truth and while it is in Cathal Brugha Street for it to be flooded with resources so we can be assured these children can have a normal school environment, because they have not had it at all through the last 23 years, affecting generations of children.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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To recap, the project brief was for a large-scale capital project, namely the construction of a 16-classroom primary school consisting of a four-storey, 13-classroom block with ancillary rooms facing Dominick Street, a five-storey block with administration, services, library and resource rooms on the corner of Dominick Place and Dominick Street, an elevated first floor bridge block containing three classrooms facing Dominick Place and a general purpose hall with a basement for services to the rear of the site at Granby Row. The site is an area of archaeological interest and abuts a protected structure owned and occupied by Youth Work Ireland. That was the project brief, as the Deputy knows. It sounds like a very complex build.

As I said, a number of issues arose on site at the outset, which is not unusual given the nature of the brownfield site. These included several services on-site, including electrical lines and services related to the adjacent Luas line which were not apparent until excavation began. There was also an issue with the foundations of an adjoining protected building that required careful consideration. While all parties actively engaged to discuss and resolve the issues and reduce the risk to the programme, these unforeseen matters delayed it, as the Deputy knows. It is now prudent to plan on the basis the provision of the new school building will be unavoidably delayed. However, the Department is assessing all options open to it to expedite the delivery of the new school building, as I have previously outlined, and it is in regular contact with the school authorities.

I will convey the Deputy’s sentiments. He has raised it, he has articulated it very well and I understand. We all deal with school issues and they are very important for the children and the entire school community. It is hugely important to them and I understand that. It is not unique; it happens all over the country. That is not diminishing the importance of this case. I will convey the Deputy’s frustration and that of the community.