Ivana Bacik (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and I am glad to receive an update from her in respect of the holding of the pre-planning meeting with Dublin City Council on 26 January and her assurance that school representatives will be invited to a meeting shortly with a view to seeing those plans. That is most heartening, because it amounts so some progress, albeit slower than we had hoped.

I also thank the Minister of State for her commitment to speaking with the Minister, Deputy Foley, to ask her if she can do as much as she can to expedite matters. I should say that the members of the school community - they are well aware of the context mentioned by the Minister of State - are concerned that the five-year planning permission for temporary accommodation for all three schools on the campus, which was granted in 2018, will expire in August 2023. They are most concerned that the students currently attending the school started in temporary accommodation but should not finish it in such a manner when they complete their leaving certificate in 2026. However, to have the permanent construction in place by then, planning permission would need to be granted at the latest by winter 2022 or spring 2023 to ensure there is adequate time. The school community is anxious to get started on this and I am very grateful for the Minister of State telling me she will do all she can to ensure that it is expedited.