Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both Senators for raising this issue as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the Seanad the current position on the major building project for the Holy Family school in Cootehill. I understand the urgency attached to the project, given that it involves a multidenominational and co-educational special needs school which caters for pupils aged between four and 18 years with moderate and profound learning difficulties and autism. The project was included in the six-year programme announced on 17 November 2015 to proceed to tender and construction. The original brief was to provide a 21 classroom school. Following a meeting with the Department in December 2015, the school and its design team were authorised to increase the scale of the project to deliver a new 26 classroom school. As outlined by Senator Diarmuid Wilson, on 18 November 2016 the design team submitted a stage 2A addendum report to the Department for review. The review was completed by the end of January 2017 and the board of management and its design team were authorised to complete stage 2B - developed design stage. This stage includes obtaining planning permission, a fire safety certificate and a disability access certificate.

All statutory approvals have now been secured for the project. Construction will require the full decant of the existing school to temporary accommodation on a nearby site. The decant will be an integral part of the school building project and form part of the main contract. Planning permission for the decant accommodation was secured in August 2016. The fire certificate and disability access certificate were subsequently secured and the Department has authorised the signing of a lease by the school to secure the decant site. The design team architect has informed the Department that they expect to submit the stage 2B report for review by the end of this month. Once the stage 2B report has been submitted and approved, the Department will revert to the school with a timeframe for the tender process, including the pre-qualification of contractors.

I regret that I am unable to give the Senators an exact date for commencement of the project, but I hope they are assured by the response that the project will be addressed at the earliest date possible.