Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, for the opportunity to raise the issue of Gortahork national school and its current position in the Department's school building programme. The construction of a new school building for Gortahork national school has been an ongoing issue for more than ten years, with successive boards of management endeavouring to progress the purchase of a site for a new school in the village of Gortahork.

Gortahork is a small village, but the current school accommodation is totally unsuitable to meet the needs of the children who attend the school. Progress had been made by the Department of Education and Skills to provide a new school on a new site. Various meetings took place between previous Ministers and officials from the Department and members of the board of management and its chairman, Fr. Seán Ó Gallchóir, about the project. Unfortunately, however, it has hit a difficulty. The planning application submitted by the Department and probably prepared by the Office of Public Works was refused by Donegal County Council.

There were a number of reasons for the refusal. A number of meetings took place both before and after the planning application reached the further information stage between planning staff in Donegal County Council, the council's road engineers, the national roads design office and officials from both the OPW and the Department of Education and Skills. The advice given by both the planning office and the roads office of Donegal County Council was that while it welcomed the planning application and it met all planning conditions, there were road safety concerns. The clear advice given to the OPW and the Department by local authority staff was to make amendments to the application to improve the road safety conditions. This would result in improved road safety conditions for the young children at the new school.

I am not sure why the Department of Education and Skills did not take the advice. Following the meetings and the extension of time there was no subsequent information submitted by the Department. Instead, it let the three month time extension for the provision of further information to run out. Donegal County Council had no option but to refuse the planning application. One of the recommendations from the Department appears to be that it would now be in a position to seek the acquisition of additional lands, to negotiate the purchase of these lands and to prepare a new planning application, taking account of the improved safety conditions at the school. While this is good, it delays the bureaucracy of getting the planning approval process to the next phase and the school built.

The board of management wrote to the Department of Education and Skills on 26 April and made a number of suggestions. It asked the Department to take immediate steps to procure the site. It has not yet been bought because the new site for the school will only be bought subject to planning permission. The site is under question also in terms of whether it will be available and whether the owner will continue to make it available to the Department indefinitely. There has to be some response by the Department, given that it let Donegal County Council make the decision to refuse the application.

The board of management has made three suggestions. The first is that the Department of Education and Skills go ahead and buy the site identified by the OPW as the most suitable in the village. Second, it should enter into negotiations with the landowner, whose small additional portions of land are necessary to improve road safety conditions in respect of the new application. Third, the boards has suggested that the Department and the OPW once again meet the National Roads Authority, the Donegal national road design office and the planning and roads sections of Donegal County Council to renegotiate ahead of any new planning application proceeding.

I fear that the Department of Education and Skills will put the application on the long finger and that it will not progress as quickly as it did previously. I am seeking an update from the Minister of State. What assurances can he give to the House and the board of management that the site will be purchased by the Department and that a new planning application will be prepared in line with the new portions of land that must be purchased to improve the road safety conditions set out by Donegal County Council?