Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Minister of State for taking the time to respond on this matter. I am enthused. It is good to hear such firm commitment from the Department that it remains committed to the long-term location of Ballinteer Educate Together national school at St. Tiernan's. It is an excellent site and will make such a difference, not just to the lives of the pupils but also to the community at large. I would ask two things of the Department and would appreciate if the Minister of State could feed them back. First, that the many letters that were sent nearly a month ago would receive replies. I have seen the three questions asked and could answer them myself. It probably would not be the answers that the people writing would want. To let them go unanswered with one or two acknowledgements of receipt sent out every so often is not good enough in this era, when we expect a level of responsibility from the organs of government.

Second, I encourage the Minister of State to put pressure on the officials in her Department to work very closely with the principal in question. A lot of responsibility and extra pressure has been put on one individual, supported by excellent volunteers, during her holiday break to put in place an entire school in a new location in a very short period. The principal needs a lot more than occasional meetings and one or two kind words. She needs a lot of help.