Joe O'Toole (Independent)

There are bands which determine the order of priority of applications, there are stages of building, there are teams which are changed at will, and there is ministerial intervention built into the process without any criteria. The system is opaque and there is a lack of transparency and understanding. Will the Minister for Education and Science come to the Seanad to discuss the matter without discussing a particular school and we promise not to ask questions about specific schools? The Minister could explain to us how the system works from the moment an application is submitted, how an application goes from band to band, which does not happen, how an application is assigned a band, and how it proceeds from bands to stages, since no one has ever been told this happens automatically. How does an application proceed automatically through stages one, two, three, four and five up to stages eight and nine? It is not unreasonable to demand an explanation for this.

The system is opaque and I have asked the Comptroller and Auditor General to investigate the matter because I believe there is poor value for money in this area. Most applicants would be prepared to wait if they knew the position, but what drives applicants mad is not knowing. They write and telephone us asking if we can find out and we cannot provide the information. There is a significant problem if elected Members of the Oireachtas cannot find the information to satisfy themselves. People will not necessarily be happy with the outcome but we at least should know the answers.