Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, for coming to the House. My question aims to get answers about the unacceptable and intolerable delay to the school building project for Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire. Seacht mbliana déag ó shin, thosaigh an Roinn Oideachas ag caint faoi scoil nua do bhunscoil Choláiste Mhuire. Ag an am seo, ní raibh aon fhéidearthacht ag an scoil ach dul go dtí foirgneamh sealadach i gCearnóg Parnell toisc nach raibh a foirgneamh féin oiriúnach a thuilleadh. Bliain tar éis bliain, tá páistí, múinteoirí agus pobal na scoile ag feitheamh ar fhoirgneamh nua. Rinneadh gealltanas tar éis gealltanas ach tá siad fós ag feitheamh. Is léir anois go bhfuil fearg dhocht agus fíordhíomá ar na tuismitheoirí, ar na múinteoirí agus ar phobal na scoile nach bhfuil aon dul chun cinn déanta dá scoil.

For almost two decades, this school has been getting assurances from Departments and representatives about a new building. Despite the amazing efforts of the board of management, the principal, the parents, all the school staff and the pupils, children are being educated in a building comprising four storeys over a basement. There are serious concerns about the plaster work in some of the classrooms, the car park has to function as a playground and there is no lift so any child with a mobility impairment finds it incredibly difficult to access the upper floors. Despite all that and the thriving and diverse school community, we have no progress on the long-promised school building for this school. What is really galling about this situation is that year after year the Department of Education is forking out €300,000 in rent for what is essentially a substandard building.

I want to raise two key issues. The first is the delay in progressing the new building and the second is the shameful manner in which the Department has treated the school. After a campaign late last year, the Minister for Finance gave a clear-cut commitment to the parents and school management that stage 2(b) would be completed within a matter of weeks at the end of 2020 and the start of 2021 as opposed to months and that construction would commence some time between July and September 2021. This was followed up by a reply to Deputy Ó Ríordáin that the stage 2(b) process would be completed and submitted to the Department no later than November 2020. It is six months on with no sign of stage 2(b) and no prospect of construction taking place next month. The children will get their school holidays tomorrow and we are facing into another September of the school having to operate in this building with no clarity as to when it will get its new school building. I can tell the Minister of State that the frustration within the school community is palpable.

As already stated, the second key issue relates to how the school has been treated.We have had to resort to submitting freedom of information requests to understand the engagement between the Department and the owners of the building adjacent to the proposed school building with regard to right of way, a flue vent and other matters. It is disgraceful that the Department has been less than forthcoming with school management. We need to hear four key things in the Minister of State's reply today. When is the stage 2B process going to be completed and submitted? Have all of the issues with the adjoining building be resolved? Will clarity be provided to the board of management as soon as possible? What commitments can now be made to the children, parents, school management and staff with regard to the date of construction? I understand that there are 357 schools on the list of prioritised school projects. Will the Minister of State give a personal commitment today that she, as Minister of State at the Department, and the Minister, Deputy Foley, will prioritise this school project? We cannot have this torturous process go on any longer.