Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is absolutely no problem. I agree with everything the Senator said. It is important to reassure members of the public in Inishowen, in particular in Moville, and the student body, that we will work together on this. I put in timeframes that I want to see met. I do not want to delve too much into the termination of the contract of the architect because it is not finalised yet but once that happens we will appoint a new architect. In the meantime the design team is still in place. It will continue its work and we will have a submission ready for planning. I am happy to keep the Senator posted at every stage.

I acknowledge the input of Mr. Paddy Kelly from the education and training board, ETB, whose expertise will be critical in ensuring we move forward on this. I also acknowledge the input of the local county councillors who have been working very hard on this issue, and I will keep them in the loop as well.

I acknowledge the frustration of the teachers in the staff room. I met them and we considered potential options. We discussed potentially replacing the prefabs and considered what would be the best option. The advice I got back is that in order to do an effective job in a tighter timeframe, what is required is not simply replacing a roof, rather the electrics will need to be done and a full refurbishment to ensure there are a proper safety standards in place in these prefabs for the students and the teachers.