Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of accommodation at Sacred Heart secondary school in Clonakilty, County Cork. I have been involved in this matter for the past few years. This vibrant school has nearly 550 students, a teaching population of just over 40 and a history on the site going back to 1941. It is a unique campus in many ways. It also had a boarding element, which ceased in 2005 and, as a result, one building has been left idle. This building is the reason I have raised this Commencement matter. It is a unique structure in the middle of the campus that is unfortunately lying idle. It dates back many years and it is planned to redevelop it. The building has great potential to meet the educational requirements of Clonakilty, particularly those of Sacred Heart secondary school.

This State has a history of having prefabricated buildings on site. Prefabs have been on this site for more than a decade. Approximately €1 million has been spent on prefabs in Clonakilty over the past 12 years. This is unfortunate when one considers that this money could have been put to much better use redeveloping the old boarding school building in the heart of the site.

I am trying to get movement on this project, which is part of the ADAPT programme. It will involve having outside consultants run the redevelopment of the boarding school campus. Progress is needed on the project. Clonakilty is a busy and thriving town. Population growth has been immense in the past decade. The county development plan has predicted many more thousands of people will move to this vibrant town. We need an education campus that will meet the town's future population needs.The need is there and the building is there. The funds to redevelop that unique building should be advanced in order that the Sacred Heart school in Clonakilty can develop and flourish as it needs.

I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on the ADAPT programme, where the school fits into the programme and when a project manager will be appointed. The external project manager who will run the project is a key element in ensuring it is delivered. This redevelopment has been talked about for generations. In the light of €1 million, unfortunately, having been spent prefabs for the school over the past decade, the need for movement on this project is very evident. We cannot just put money into a dead end such as prefabs. Rather, we must reinvest in this beautiful campus such that the school can flourish as it has since 1941.