Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the position with regard to the proposed building project for St. Laurence O'Toole's national school, North Wall, Dublin 1.

By way of background, three existing schools in Seville Place, North Wall, have amalgamated. These are St. Laurence O'Toole's junior girls school, St. Laurence O'Toole's senior girls school and St. Laurence O'Toole's junior boys school. It is the Department's intention to provide a new building to accommodate this development and provide for extra demand for pupil places coming on stream from the ongoing development of the Dublin docklands area. The new building, which is being provided in association with the Dublin Dockland Development Authority, will be developed on the existing site.

The new school's enrolment at 30 September 2007 was 116 pupils. It has a staffing level of a principal, five mainstream assistants, one amalgamation concessionary post, one disadvantaged concessionary post, one permanent urban band one post, two permanent learning support teachers, one post for an administrative principal, one permanent support project post and one permanent home school liaison teacher. Based on an assessment of the projected enrolment, demographic trends and housing developments for the area carried out by the school planning section of the Department, the long-term projected enrolment suggests that a 24 classroom building would be needed.

The building project is in the early stages of architectural planning. In this regard a stage one submission, which deals with site suitability and initial sketch of the proposed building, has been submitted to the Department and is being examined by the Department's professional and technical staff. The site is extremely difficult as it is limited in size and has a church located on it with a protected feature which, it has been suggested, should remain visible from the street. Both these issues present not insignificant implications for the design process.

While there is no difficulty in devising imaginative architectural responses, the Department must bear in mind that the building will be used by young children and the end product must be an effective and efficient learning environment, meet all health and safety requirements for the intended users and be conducive to effective management by the principal. This is not an easy task given the limitations imposed by the site. Imaginative architectural solutions also invariably add up to expensive buildings. While the financial contribution from the Dublin Dockland Development Authority is both significant and welcome, the cost to the Department is likely to be over and above that normally provided for a school of this size.

Having said that, the Department's professional and technical staff are nearing completion of their review of the stage one submission for the project in question. When completed the next step will be to discuss its findings with the board of management. Once the review is finalised officials from the Department will arrange such a discussion. Thereafter, further progress on the project will be considered in the context of the schools building and modernisation programme.