Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)

I raise the urgent situation at Marymount National School in Drogheda in County Louth. It was built in 1969, more than half a century ago, and is now not fit for purpose. The building is in a really shocking state. A teacher sent me photographs yesterday. The classrooms are so cold and damp that condensation runs down the windows, gathering on sills and the floors. Children are actually getting wet at their desks and wearing coats indoors just to learn. The school is also terribly overcrowded. It has a higher incidence than usual of children with special needs.

For years, the school has been promised a new building. In July 2022, the Department confirmed a project for 24 classrooms and ancillary accommodation. In October 2024, it was listed among active projects under the capital programme. In April this year, the Minister’s own reply stated that the project was at an advanced stage, at the tender stage, and would come in under Project Ireland 2040. Yet, nothing appears to have changed on the ground. Staff and parents are asking when construction will actually begin and when the children will actually move into a warm, safe, habitable and modern building. These conditions are unacceptable in 2025.

I ask today for a clear and urgent update from the new Minister for education. I would like to know if the project has gone to tender and, if so, when the work will commence and what is the expected completion date. This has gone on for a long time. The community, the students and the staff, in particular, are suffering. They have waited long enough. They deserve certainty and definitely delivery as soon as possible.