Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am conscious that she has had to convey the situation of the Department when the matter does not strictly come within her remit.

I am more worried now on foot of this written response from the Department than I was when I made my opening contribution. First, the reply seeks to pin the delays on the negotiations with Youth Work Ireland. It is very clear that the issue with Youth Work Ireland concerned 1% of the site, so the design team could easily have worked on the remaining 99% of the site. There has been a failure in this response to deal with the reality of the situation, which is that there has been a failure to progress the bulk of the design for the school building.

Second, we have not heard an assurance with respect to the timelines or how the Department proposes to work with the design team and, indeed, the tender process. I ask the Minister of State to seek assurances from the Minister, Deputy Foley, in that regard because that is what the school needs right now.