Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I ask for a clear timeline for the completion of the long-awaited expansion to Bailieborough Community School in County Cavan. This school has rightly been described as being the victim of its own success. That is good. My Cavan colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, raised the issue with the Taoiseach as far back as 2020, pointing out the pressure on space and the impact on students and staff. At that time, the school already had over 650 students enrolled. Today, enrolment has reached 700.

Five years ago, €2 million was approved for an extension to provide additional classrooms, a multimedia room, a new science laboratory and preparation area. In March 2021, further accommodation was approved under the additional school accommodation scheme. This approval included four general classrooms, four special education rooms, an art and music room, a science laboratory, a library and dining facilities. This shows the Minister of State the extent of the need required in Bailieborough Community School. In December 2024, planning permission was granted for a significant three-storey extension. We are five years on from funding approval announcements and we still have not broken ground yet. I am curious as to why there is not more urgency when it comes to advancing this project. Now that planning permission has been approved, I would expect to see faster progression of commencement works on the extension. I understand that the Department is awaiting the submission of the stage 2b report from the design team.

The school has made two requests to the Department in June and August for the design team to commence the prequalification process of the project, but it was denied both times. Time is money when it comes to increasing costs, be that inflation or year-on-year increases in the cost of material labour. In that context, I genuinely cannot understand why, other than for nonsensical bureaucratic reasons, this process cannot commence. I know the Department has to follow due diligence, but we are almost a year on from when planning permission was granted and we have no clear idea as to when we can expect to see the extension completed. Is the Minister of State able to confirm a timeline for completion in order that we will not be left wondering?