Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate where Senator O?Donovan is coming from.

It does me no good to say that a school in my own county cannot have a definitive timeframe for the provision of a new school. The Government is faced with Hobson's choice at the moment because demographics do come into play. We are now faced with a situation in this country where there are pockets in metropolitan and urban areas where school places will not be available in the future. One must make provision in constrained economic times to allow for the necessity of people to be able to go to school. That is the Hobson?s choice that faces us.

I am willing to speak to the Minister, Deputy Quinn, about the issue again. I am aware of the history of the case, dating back to 1999, and some of the difficulties that arose between some of the State agencies involved. It is not possible at this stage to state exactly when a new school will be built. One could argue that we are putting it on the long finger. I accept the point that has been made against the Government but it must prioritise those areas where school places will not be available and make provision for them.