Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this issue. I am very grateful to the Minister for coming to the House and I also thank him and his officials for their engagement with me on this and many other issues in the educational sphere in recent weeks.

I bring this matter to the floor of the House following repeated and frustrating correspondence between the local school community and departmental officials. I want to go through the background to this matter and to outline the outstanding issues that need to be addressed urgently and clearly. This goes back to initial meetings on a new school that I attended in 2010. Unfortunately, after much initial progress and enthusiasm from all parties there has been a continuous cycle of expectation, disappointment and anticipation relating to this project which is part of the Department's six-year capital programme.

In the short term, a series of questions need to be answered and I would appreciate if the Minister could provide answers today or at least send on the information to me and the school community later this week. What facilities will be made available for Ballinteer Educate Together national school in its short-term accommodation in Notre Dame? How many classrooms will be made available in that short-term accommodation? What size classrooms will be made available? How many pupils will be on campus from the other two schools at the Notre Dame site? What school start and end times are envisaged for Ballinteer Educate Together national school at the short-term site? What traffic management plans will be put in place? In light of the decision to bring all schools on campus this September, what arrangements have been made with the other two schools at the Notre Dame site? What arrangements have been or can be made to provide a school bus service to the Notre Dame campus?

As the Minister is aware from previous correspondence, it is my personal opinion that the short-term plan to move Ballinteer Educate Together national school to the site of Notre Dame in Churchtown is far from ideal, putting parents under undue hardship and diminishing the strong links already made by the school to the local community. In the context of the medium-term plan to build a permanent home for the school adjacent to St. Tiernan's community school, the school community is understandably frustrated and angered by the perceived delay and difficulty in dealing with departmental officials, in terms of getting answers. In that context, I have another series of questions that need to be answered and I would appreciate if the Minister could respond today or send on further information at a later date. First, at what stage is the purchase of the required land to allow for acceptable access to the new school? At what stage is the planning application? When will the planning application be lodged? What needs to be resolved before the application can be lodged? When will the school be built and when will the permanent school be opened?

The questions I am putting to the Minister this morning are all pretty straightforward. As we approach the end of the school year, a very large school community is deeply frustrated and angry at the severe delays in obtaining answers to legitimate questions. My office has been inundated with correspondence relating to this issue for quite some time from parents in the immediate area and from a catchment area that stretches way beyond the local environs into Bray in County Wicklow and across to Tallaght, County Dublin. I most recently attended a parent teacher association meeting at the school on Monday. The levels of confusion and uncertainty are worrying. I ask the Minister to prioritise this school and to ensure that the maximum levels of transparent information are provided regularly.