Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I ask the Minister for Education and Science to consider fast tracking the opening of the Adamstown secondary school to cater for the growing number of children in Lucan primary schools.

The land in question was rezoned in 1998 and has not yet been built on. When the local authority drew up the first strategic development zone plan for the area it set aside a site for a secondary school. More than that, there is a mandatory requirement that a permanent school building be put in place at a specified stage of the plan. If the builder does not fulfil this and other requirements he cannot move to the next stage of development. This requirement was an important step in planning and is an example for future development in other areas.

When councillors were drafting the plan we were conscious of the problem of school places in Lucan and we felt the Adamstown secondary school could cater for the needs of the current school age population of Lucan as well as the future requirements of Adamstown itself. That was the intention of the council when the plan was drawn up.

There has been a shortage of primary school places in the area and the Government has acted on this shortage. However, a bottleneck has now developed at the secondary school stage. Primary school principals in the Lucan area have a growing number of students who are coming to the end of their primary school careers and face the difficulty of finding secondary school places. Lucan Community College operates a lottery for places and other local schools, including St. Kevin's Community College which is just outside the Lucan area, are similarly full to capacity.

Some local politicians have proposed that another school site should be identified. That is not what is required. Action must be taken on the Adamstown secondary school. The Government should take the initiative on this matter and not leave it to parents, who very often are left to push these issues. A committee is being set up by parents with children in the primary schools to deal with the issue of secondary school places. They are concerned that their children might not be able to find a place in the local secondary school.

Rather than waiting until this issue reaches crisis point, the Government should start planning now for the secondary school in Adamstown. I am sure the developers and the council will work with the Government, the Minister and the Department in that regard. I have received replies from the Minister on this issue, which suggest that the Department thinks a site will be set aside. However, more will be done for the Department. The developers will build a school for it under the terms of the plan. This is an opportunity for the Government to act rather than waiting until there is a crisis and then responding by announcing in its construction programme for a certain year that it will do a number of things. I look forward to the Minister's response.