Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This morning I wish to raise the issue of Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, to discuss the need for an urgent update on the progress of the proposed extension to the school.

Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, is one of the key cornerstone secondary schools in the town. Not only does it take in pupils from the Clonakilty town area, but it also has a large rural catchment area. There are over 550 students at the school and 47 classrooms. The school was established 80 years ago, in 1941.One of the key issues relates to how we get development on this project. This project has been the subject of many stumbles along the way. A project manager was appointed in August 2019 for this school project and it was part of the so-called ADAPT 2 approach that bundles school projects together. However, because of the complex nature of the build in Clonakilty, where heritage and cultural issues pertain in respect of the project, it was taken out of that bundle.

Although appointed in 2019, the project manager left and did not take on the project. This became a significant burden on the school population in regard to how they would progress the new build, which is basically the redevelopment of a former complex on the site that has been left idle for several years. There is a real issue regarding how to get movement on the proposal. There has been temporary accommodation on-site for many years and there is also the need for an, ASD, unit, an issue in respect of which the Minister of State is very much involved. The school has actively looked for that but, again, the lack of accommodation is becoming a major issue in terms of site and school development.

The Minister of State might provide an update on whether the project has moved forward. In many ways, it went forward in 2019 but it has gone backwards since. We need to see movement on this project as there are so many issues, whether in regard to the ASD unit or the derelict building on the site, which, unfortunately has an erosion issue because of its location, and the building is falling into disrepair. There are many issues that need to be tied together so we can get movement on this project.