Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. My Commencement matter is in respect of a school building project at Ardscoil Phádraig in Granard, County Longford. It is a coeducational ETB school based in Granard just ten minutes away from where I live. There are 370 pupils on the enrolment across the six years, which has grown since 2017-2018, when there were 253. It is at a maximum and has a waiting list for kids looking to attend. It has DEIS status and, similar to St. Brogan's College, it was actually the first post-primary school in Longford to have an ASD class. That was back in 2009. In 2018, a full, modern, purpose-built class catering for 18 students was built. It is a model of special education, not just for Longford but for the entire country.

The school was sanctioned for a nine-classroom extension in February 2021, three and a half years ago. Temporary prefabs are in place currently. As I stated, the school is at a maximum. It is on a very confined site and has a limited amount of outdoor space for the kids. My own son started in first year a few weeks ago. I am delighted that he is getting on well. I have been on the board of the school since 2009, when I was first elected to local politics, so I know the way the school works and how they look after their students. Every student in that school gets every opportunity possible that they wish, be it sporting or academic. The school provides a rich and diverse curriculum that caters for the needs of each student and offers a vast range of educational experiences that will challenge each student. It is committed to the development of the students and there is a strong emphasis on the personal and social development of those youngsters, catered to by an extensive range of extracurricular activities such as art, culture and sports. All students are actively encouraged to participate.

The school recently received funding under path 4, a significant multi-million euro investment into upgrading and retrofitting the entire old part of the school. The facts are there is still a shortage of classroom facilities for the students at present. We want to know when we are going to get our science room and extra classrooms that are much needed so that we as a school can cater for the larger number of kids who want to attend.