Maria Corrigan (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter. As the Minister of State is under pressure for time, I will be brief.

I refer to Holy Trinity national school, Leopardstown, Dublin, a relatively new school which is housed completely in temporary accommodation. It has 215 pupils and is expanding constantly. It was established to meet a fast growing local need as a result of extensive development in the Leopardstown-Stepaside area.

At the time it was not eligible to apply for any of the curriculum grants available because it was housed in temporary accommodation. However, it was delighted with the recent ministerial announcement of a grant amounting to approximately €3,250 for playground and physical education equipment. Since the school was not in a position to apply for a grant in the first instance, it does not have any old equipment to replace. As such, it will find it difficult to purchase sufficient new equipment with that amount of money.

It is an excellent school that provides good educational opportunities for its pupils. Through fund-raising efforts, particularly those of the parents, it has tried to provide as many extracurricular resources as possible, but these are limited. Given the exceptional circumstances and that the school was not eligible to apply for a grant initially, would it be possible to consider providing it with additional funding on a once-off basis?