Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this Adjournment matter.

In its five year plan for school building projects the Government, rightly, identified the need for a post-primary school in Lusk, County Dublin. Lusk is a fast growing area in my constituency of Dublin North. It has grown from a rural village to a sizeable town. There are a number of primary schools in the area. There is Rush and Lusk Educate Together national school, while the busiest school is Lusk national school. Hedgestown national school is located just outside the town. The need for a post-primary school is agreed and it remains to be decided who will be the patron.

The Minister has received two applications of which I am aware. One is from the vocational education committee, VEC, and the other from Educate Together. When will the Department make a decision on the granting of patronage and what criteria will be used in making that decision? The parents of more than 1,000 primary school children and more than 400 preschoolers in the immediate Lusk area, not including the outlying area of Rush, have given written consent to be added to the Lusk VEC campaign. These parents have declared their preference for patronage to be granted to the VEC which has a proven track record of multicultural and co-educational learning. Having been in the area and from meeting residents of Lusk, this appears to be the clear preference of the people of the town. Educate Together has developed well in the area, which we also welcome. We need choice in post-primary education provision, but we must also look at the express wishes of the community of Lusk. Having attended meetings and conducted research on the issue, the clear preference of the vast majority of people in the Lusk catchment area is that the Department grant patronage to the VEC in this instance.

I await the response of the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House.