Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this issue. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who is regrettably unavailable. I thank the Senator for giving me an opportunity to provide an update on the current status of the construction of a new school building for Curragh Community College and the provision of interim accommodation for the 2023-24 academic year. Curragh Community College is a multidenominational, co-educational school under the patronage of Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, ETB, with an enrolment of 159 pupils for the 2021-22 school year. A new site is required to construct the replacement school building. Following an extensive site identification, assessment and negotiation process, the Department of Education has acquired a new site at Magee Barracks in Kildare town, subject to planning permission, to provide a replacement and expanded school for Curragh Community College. The new school will have capacity for 1,000 pupils as well as accommodation for special classes. The new school will cater for the increased demographic growth at post-primary level due to occur in the Kildare South region over the coming years, the majority of which is projected to occur in Kildare town.

The location of an 8 acre greenfield site is next to two existing primary schools - Kildare Town Educate Together National School and Gaelscoil Mhic Aodha, within the grounds of the former Magee Barracks in Kildare town. The development of the post-primary school on this site will enhance the education facilities available to Curragh Community College and the existing primary schools in a new educational campus arrangement. The project brief for this major building project is currently being developed. It is intended that the project will be delivered under the Department of Education's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tender, ADAPT, programme, which uses the services of a professional external project manager to co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe to progress this project through the stages of architectural planning.

The tender process to appoint a project manager has been completed. The project manager is currently arranging site visits arid the procurement of site surveys for all projects on this ADAPT programme, including for this site in Kildare. The tender competition for the appointment of design teams for the first tranche of school building projects on the ADAPT programme will shortly be commenced by the project manager. The Department of Education will keep the patron, Kildare and Wicklow ETB, informed in relation to the ADAPT programme and the appointment of the design team and further progression through the stages of architectural planning for this major school building project. The Department of Education is also currently in discussion with the patron with regard to the school's interim accommodation needs for the 2023-24 academic year.

I reassure the Senator that I will raise the issues she has raised here this morning directly with the Minister, Deputy Foley. I completely understand how important it is for students and families that they have certainty around their placement and the new building that is required.