John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have one minute to reply to the Minister of State. It is my absolute pleasure to have Nicola here today. She is from Dundalk and has just finished her leaving certificate. She is going on to become a nurse in September but I hope we will have her interested in politics by the end of this week following her internship in my office.

I appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, coming to the House to respond to the issue I raised. In his response, he indicated that there is a very significant school building programme happening right across the State. That is correct, but I have the timeline here in black and white. The Department took 38 days to reply with an update to an email from a school principal. To me, that does not indicate that we are able to embark on a significant building programme when a principal like Síle Murnaghan in Monksland National School has to consistently chase the Department and sections within it to see if she can get the classrooms across the line. It is there in black and white, but I will not go into it because I do not want to focus on the mistakes of the past.

What I want is a solution for the Cooley Peninsula, Monksland National School, Síle and the board of management, but most important, what I want is a solution for the pupils who will start in the school on 1 September.I know the Minister of State, through his good offices, will bring that point back to the Minister for Education and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. I hope when the final bit of information goes in, the Department will approve this without any further delay.