John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this very important matter and I hope the answer I provide today will be sufficient. I wish to apologise on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, who, at the last minute, was unable to attend today. Again, I thank Senator Clifford-Lee for raising the matter and am happy to clarify the position in respect of the delivery of permanent accommodation for Rivervalley community national school in Swords.

As the Senator knows, following a nationwide demographic exercise, it was determined that a new primary school was required to be opened in Swords south in September 2019 to ensure that there was sufficient primary school places to serve the school planning area. Following on from a patronage appointment process, the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, was appointed as patron of this new school. The final grant of planning permission was received on 30 August 2019 from Fingal County Council for the development of interim accommodation for the school at 85-87 Main Street, Swords, in order to ensure that the school would open in September 2019. It was then necessary to seek alternative interim accommodation and the school opened in suitable contingency accommodation on a Department-owned site in Drinan on the south side of Swords, the area which the school was established to serve. The school is located there at the moment but is moving to Rivervalley. Once work has been completed on the site at 85-87 Main Street, the school will relocate to interim accommodation on that site in due course.

The Minister is committed to providing a permanent accommodation solution for the school at an early date but the acquisition of a suitable site is required to facilitate the delivery of this project. The DDLETB, as school patron, is currently advancing a site acquisition process with the assistance of the Department of Education and Skills. A potential site option in the Rivervalley area has now been identified. Following on from initial engagement with the relevant landowners, a more detailed technical assessment of the site is now being undertaken. The Senator will understand that this must be done before the site can be purchased. That said, I believe that the site in question is more than adequate. Of course the Senator will appreciate the importance of ensuring the technical feasibility of any proposed site to ensure that the required level of accommodation can be provided and to mitigate any potential planning risks to the project. I can assure Senator Clifford-Lee that the Department and the DDLETB are working to progress matters as quickly as possible. They have been in constant contact in recent weeks with a view to securing a permanent site for Rivervalley community national school at the earliest possible date.Once a site for the school has been secured, the project to deliver its permanent accommodation can be progressed to the architectural planning process. I assure the Senator that the provision of a permanent school building for River Valley community national school in a suitable location is a priority for the Department of Education and Skills and that officials are working to advance this project as quickly as possible.