Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)
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I am glad to have an opportunity to raise the issue of a proposed new national school for Educate Together in Carrigaline, County Cork, which is a growing area. In September 2008, a new Educate Together school was established in temporary rented accommodation and had 20 pupils at that stage. Last September, the school had 150 students and it is expected to have 180 in September 2012 based on current enrolments. Given the projected growth in population in the area up to 2014, the school is expected to have close to 300 pupils.

In January this year, the school opened an autistic spectrum disorder, or ASD, unit following a request from the special educational needs organiser in the area. The unit is very successful and has six pupils to date.

The school was under the impression that it would have a new building start this year. The staff hoped to move in to such a new facility in September 2013. Planning permission for the new school was granted at the end of May. After the planning application was made, the Department of Education and Skills said it was important to the planning process because it expected to have the school under construction and in operation in 2013.

The school meets the criteria applicable to band 11 and is serving a rapidly developing area where the existing educational provision is unable to meet demand for places. That is the category under which this school qualified. The 2013 date has now been pushed out to 2014-15 following an announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills.

Due to its rapid expansion, the school caters for 150 pupils on two separate campuses, which makes communication difficult. It covers six classes, including two junior infant classes. The situation is not ideal for staff, pupils or parents. Children from one family may be on separate campuses which are 1.5 miles apart in a busy town.

There is huge disappointment that the new school project has been delayed. The Minister has said that 80% of his Department's budget goes on staffing and I know his capital expenditure is restricted. I am not asking that any other school, to which a building programme has been already committed, should be demoted in favour of this particular school. I am asking the Minister of State to examine the matter, however. This request arises from a recent meeting I attended with parents and teachers involved in the Educate Together school in Carrigaline. If, for some reason, funding becomes available - perhaps because another school failed to meet the planning criteria and was not being processed - this school should be looked upon favourably.

The Minister of State probably has the enrolment figures, but I raised this Adjournment matter to articulate the difficult situation facing this school with separate campuses in a rapidly growing town. The enrolment is increasing annually with a new full class of at least 30 pupils or more. In addition, the ASD unit is playing an important role and is very much needed in the Carrigaline area. There are six pupils this year, which is a high intake in a single school. The ASD unit was established on the understanding that the new school project would progress this year for start-up in September 2013.

The Minister of State should bear in mind the severe difficulties facing parents, teachers and students in this school.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank Senator Clune for raising the matter as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the current position concerning the building of a new Educate Together school in Carrigaline, County Cork.

The Senator may find it helpful if I set out the context within which decisions relating to meeting the accommodation needs of schools must be considered over the coming years. Total enrolment is expected to grow by around 70,000 students between now and 2018 - that is, by more than 45,000 at primary level and 25,000 at post primary level. To meet the needs of our growing population of school-going children, the Department must establish new schools as well as extending or replacing a number of existing schools in areas, including Carrigaline, where demographic growth has been identified. The delivery of these new schools, together with extension projects to meet future demand, will be the main focus of the Department's budget in the coming years.

The five-year programme which the Minister announced on 12 March, will provide more than 100,000 permanent school places, of which more than 80,000 will be new school places. The remainder will be the replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation. Carrigaline Educate Together school is, fortunately, included in the five-year programme to go to construction in 2014-15 for the provision of a new school. The Department of Education and Skills has previously reached agreement with Cork County Council to acquire a suitable site for the new school, subject to planning permission being secured. I am sure the Senator is aware that earlier this week Cork County Council granted planning permission for the proposed new school building. Now that planning is secured the acquisition of the site will be completed. Department officials will continue to engage with the school authorities regarding the progression of the project.

I thank the Senator again for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the current situation regarding that building project for Carrigaline Educate Together school. It is envisaged that a certain number of projects will be delivered each year in the five-year programme. The design and planning process to bring about that has now been set in motion. It would be difficult to move any schools around within that structure. For example, the schools to be delivered next year are now being managed by the design and planning unit in Tullamore. There is a bundle of schools that are now going through that process.

Next year, we will move into the schools that will be delivered the following year, which will include Carrigaline. One can expect therefore that progress will happen. In case there is any doubt in the minds of the Senator, the board of management, parents and pupils of the school in Carrigaline, it is most certainly the intention of the Minister to deliver on every project in the five-year programme within the five-year timeline.

Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his statement and appreciate his clarification. I understand the position, but I wanted to outline the severe difficulties facing the school which is growing. With the ASD unit and the growth in population, it is really feeling the pinch.