Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. There is a certain irony to the fact that we are discussing the fate of the school building project for Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire on budget day, given that €4.9 billion has been spent on school building projects in the State since 2020 and yet this school has waited 22 years for a new school building. It has watched the Celtic tiger come and go, the physical condition of the building deteriorate for all that time and in spite of that, the school community has thrived. That has been in spite of those physical school surroundings, however. In 2008, a site was identified for this school. That is 16 years ago. It took another eight years for the Department to approve a school building. We have had turf wars between the Department of public expenditure and reform and the Department of Education during that time about the construction of this school but it was only in 2023 that the sod was finally turned.On that day, where there were many smiles, sunshine and finally a hope that a breakthrough was going to be made, the understanding was that we would have a new school building on Dominick Street for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on 8 June 2025. Just eight months before that date, there are only five people working on the site, the building has hardly come out of the ground and we do not have any realistic prospect of seeing that school built before the end of 2026.

I get that the Department and successive Ministers for Education have prioritised certain projects and given political backing to certain schools. This school has not felt the benefit of that. Every step along the way, the school community, the parents, the board of management and the principal have had to fight tooth and nail. It is completely unacceptable that eight months before the project should be completed, we are at a stalemate. Yes, we hear that a school building project manager has been appointed and there is some indication of meetings taking place, but we have no date for when completion is expected. I ask the Department today to provide some sort of assurance to the school community that they are going to get their school building as soon as possible and not be forced into a fresh round of having to fight tooth and nail. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age, particularly with the amount of money that is being spent. This is not just about money; it is also about prioritisation within the Department for the delivery of this school.

I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's clarification on the completion date and precisely what is happening with the school building project at this point in time.