Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State. It is welcome news indeed that a number of tenders have been received and are currently being reviewed, and that the report of the review team will then be submitted to the Department. What is sadly lacking in the response is a commitment to the end date and to enabling students to start in August 2026.

I appreciate that a number of steps must be gone through. We had a horrific situation in St. Paul's Secondary School in Monasterevin where a contractor who was not awarded the tender took the Department to court, which unfortunately pushed that project out. I seek some level of surety that if things go according to plan - none of us can ever plan for unintended consequences - the school will be ready to open on schedule. The Curragh Community College, which has been in existence for some time, is pushing the boat out to accommodate the extra numbers, but it is causing problems with transport and for those who have to move away from their town. Could the Minister of State bring back the message to the Minister that we need surety?