Seanad debates

Tuesday, 6 March 2018

Commencement Matters

School Accommodation Provision

2:30 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I apologise to him if the Department wrote to him with false information, as he indicated. There is, of course, an application from the school that was made originally in December 2016. At the time it was made the teacher complement was three mainstream teachers and one special education teacher. At that stage it was determined that there was no deficit of mainstream class accommodation in the school. However, the school was expanding and granted provisional sanction for an additional teaching post which was made conditional on the required enrolment being achieved last September. Having refused it on the grounds that there were just three mainstream teachers in the school, the Department is now in a position where it will review the application because I understand, as the Senator noted, that the school did reach the enrolment threshold of 90 pupils. The Department is reviewing the application in the light of the confirmation of the enrolment figure. Given what the Senator has said, I will ask that the review be accelerated in order that we can have a response for the school as quickly as possible.

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