Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, for attending to reply to this matter. It is one in which he has an interest. I am hopeful his interest means we will be able to reach a successful conclusion on this very important issue in our area.

The Minister of State will be aware of the need to construct St. Patrick's national school at Diswellstown. For a number of years, the school has been situated in temporary accommodation at St. Mochta's school which has caused a great deal of hardship to parents who must ferry their children to and from that location. It is also leading to traffic congestion on the roads in the area. More importantly, people need to have a school in the area in which they live. The people of Diswellstown have been without one for several years. The same problem exists all over Dublin. In the growing area of Dublin 15, thousands of houses have been built but the infrastructure to service them has not been provided in parallel. The Minister of State knows the problems we have had with delays in providing schools.

Our concern in Diswellstown is that the site on which the school is to be built has not yet been purchased by the Department. Perhaps, the Minister of State will give me good news and tell me otherwise today. According to my information the Department is not at fault. If it is the case that the developer has delayed on the delivery of this and other sites in the area, his behaviour should not be tolerated. I hope the information I have is incorrect. As full planning permission has been granted, when will the deal on the site be concluded and when will construction commence to provide the school at the earliest possible date?