Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

St. Molaga's senior national school has 463 pupils. It is in the town of Balbriggan, County Dublin. Balbriggan is the fastest growing town in Ireland, it has the youngest population in the State and has the capacity to expand much more. Since 2000, over half the pupils and half the teaching staff have been housed in 16 prefabricated buildings. These are now in a desperate state of repair despite the best efforts of the principal, Pauline Costello, and her staff. They are overcrowded, and cold and damp in the winter and too hot and stuffy in the summer. The conditions are intolerable. The school is at bursting point and, given the projected enrolment from the feeder school, Sts. Peter and Paul junior school, and the drop in the pupil-teacher ratio, extra capacity is urgently needed in St. Molaga's.

The school is on the major building works list for 2019-2021 but nothing is imminent. I brought forward this matter on the Commencement on 26 October last. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Halligan, told me on that day that substantial progress would be made on this project before the Christmas break.

Christmas came and went and no word came to the principal. This prompted the principal to apply for additional prefabs due to the urgent capacity issues. She did so very reluctantly due to their cost and the fear that the ultimate goal of permanent school structures being put in place would be put on the back burner for a further 17 years. In early January the Department made contact with the principal, organising a meeting to discuss the extension. I believe that 7 February was finalised as the date for this meeting.

This afternoon Pauline Costello got word that approval had been granted for prefabs for two mainstream and one special education classrooms. This was less than she had requested but it is welcome. The focus, however, should remain on the extension which needs to be delivered immediately. Can the Minister give me a clear outline today of the appointment of a design team and planning permission application or will this be given to the team that is meeting the Department on 7 February in Tullamore?

I am also looking for a guarantee that the granting of additional prefabs does not mean that the extension date will be pushed out because 17 years is too long to wait and we need this permanent structure in place for the children of St. Molaga's and of Balbriggan who will enter the school in the future.