Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact the Department has received the letter of consent in recent days and that it has been in negotiations with Meath County Council.The planning application should be made within a matter of weeks and I will be keeping a very close eye on that.

There are currently 600 students on that site, with another 120 students due to arrive in September of this year. The Government has stated it will not provide any more temporary accommodation on the site, so where are those children to go? That is obviously a different matter and I will have to submit another Commencement Matter on it, but today has been a good day in terms of the news regarding the planning permission application for the site.

I will be back to the Government regarding the 600 students already there and where they and the additional 120 students are going to go. There is also the issue of sports facilities and playing pitches for those children during their academic years there. Three years without pitches is not good enough.