Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for taking this matter. I understand that at the moment, given the current Covid numbers, she is particularly busy with managing the opening of the education and school system and keeping it going. I pay tribute to her and teachers throughout the country, who have kept schools going. One of the most important issues relates to keeping children in school, and the impact of lost days is significant, not least for kids in my area and from disadvantaged backgrounds.

I raise the issue of capacity within the school system, with a particular focus on St. Patrick's National School in Chapelizod. The school building has enough space for only one classroom per class. There are three small special-needs rooms but there is not space for a specialised autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit, which the school's principal believes are becoming increasingly necessary within school settings. The school is oversubscribed by approximately two times. There are 70 applications for the junior infants class each year. The school can take 30-something pupils and at the moment is at capacity, with 36. The yard space is limited given the number of children in the school and the size of the yard precludes the option of an extension for the school for anything else. Moreover, its location on a three-way crossroads makes it difficult and dangerous for the children coming to school.

In light of these constraints, limitations and the potential for the expansion of the school to take in a sufficient number of pupils from the catchment area, a site has become available across the road, opposite the old school post office. I understand a compulsory purchase order, CPO, for the site is being processed. I accept the Minister will not have a direct answer during this debate, but she might follow up within the Department to engage with Dublin City Council with a view to purchasing the site for the development of the school across the road. It would keep the school within the local area, with enough space for pupils from the catchment area, and allow it to expand. It would also allow it to include an ASD unit and, potentially, to run a number of additional classes. The school building is 50 years old and expensive maintenance is required. An application has been lodged for a grant of €300,000 to fund the replacement of old windows and frames. That was submitted two years ago but appears to have stalled. There is an expensive maintenance cost in the upkeep of an old school building that is too small and is not fit for purpose.

Will the Minister and her Department engage with the principal and Dublin City Council with a view to allowing the school to move to a safe site just across the road that will allow for expansion to serve the educational needs of children within the local area, including through an ASD unit?