Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As stated in the reply, the project manager was appointed in July 2018, which was almost a year ago. Much of the time spent on this by the project manager was spent trying to source a site within the school planning area.A suitable building could not be found due to a lack of suitability or availability, or prohibitive zoning issues. The planning permission has been given for the site. It is an interim site and will probably be used for a maximum of two years. It is important that we get on with building the permanent school within the school planning area, for which some sites have been identified. I accept that the situation is unfortunate and that some people have to travel a good distance to the school. That is not ideal but the Department is not lazy. Rather, it is motivated to ensure that the schools it provides are within the school catchment area. It is my understanding the project needs to go ahead to ensure that the school will be ready in September.