Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the announcement this morning by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, of the patronage for nine new schools to be built in the coming years. In particular, I welcome the decision that the new second level school to be built in Kingscourt, County Cavan, announced by the then Minister of State, Batt O'Keeffe, in 2009, will be under the patronage of the education and training board of Cavan and Monaghan. I commend the former chairman and members of Cavan VEC over past decades who worked diligently towards providing this new school for the people of Kingscourt and the surrounding areas. I pay tribute to Mr. Clifford Kelly, former chairman of the committee, who worked diligently with many other people, including my colleague in the Lower House, Deputy Brendan Smith, in this regard. It will be welcomed by the adult education officer of County Cavan VEC, Ms Fiona Maloney, who hails from that town and whose family provided the site for the excellent facility that houses the Youthreach centre, the community centre and the football grounds and whose family also own the land that will be used for the provision of the new school. I ask to Leader to ensure the Minister for Education and Skills has this much-needed facility constructed at an early date.