Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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I rise to raise a serious issue relating to Shellybanks Educate Together school, which opened in 2014 as a single-stream school. At the request of the Department of Education and Skills, it expanded to a double-stream school to facilitate the demand for school places in the area. The Department of Education and Skills has purchased Roslyn Park, an old secondary school that served the Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 areas very well for many decades. My understanding is that a fee of approximately €25 million was paid to purchase the Roslyn Park site. I understand that the site is designed to accommodate both a secondary and a primary school.

I want to ask the Minister about timelines, particularly with regard to the Roslyn Park site. When will we see a design for the primary school? When will we see a timeline for planning permission? When will planning permission be applied for? Could the Minister provide me with information regarding the number and type of classrooms? Will a temporary school be placed there in the mean time? My understanding is that a 12-room school will be placed on that site temporarily. I am concerned about playing facilities and locating a primary school in the middle of a major construction site.

The Harold's Cross greyhound racing track was purchased or is in the process of being purchased by the Department for an educational campus but there has been very little clarity about this. My understanding is that approximately €25 million is being spent on the purchase of the site. Last month, Dublin City Council changed the zoning to facilitate building a secondary school there. When will the local community know whether a secondary school will be built on the site? When will we know what the catchment area is because there is huge pressure for secondary school places in the Dublin 8, Dublin 6 and Dublin 6W areas? Many parts of that overall area have no secondary schools other than those of the fee-paying variety. The local community is very anxious to see a plan brought forward for the provision of a secondary school with a proper playing field because there are no playing fields in the Harold's Cross-Terenure area. The Harold's Cross site could provide not just an educational facility but also one, in the form of a sports ground, that could be enjoyed by the community in general. I am seeking clarity from the Minister of State on all these matters. There has been an expenditure, or a commitment to expenditure, of approximately €50 million in respect of these projects, but no clear timelines for the building works. When will we have certainty in this regard? I hope the Minister of State can offer comprehensive answers to the questions I have raised.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it allows me to provide an update on the current position regarding the planned developments at Roslyn Park in Dublin 4 and at the former Harold's Cross greyhound stadium in Dublin 6. The Minister apologises for being unable to attend the debate. I will address most of the issues raised by the Senator, but if he requires any additional information, I will ask the Minister to contact him directly. Significant demographic growth in the Dublin south city centre area in recent years has led to the need for additional school accommodation in the area and the necessity of acquiring permanent sites for that purpose. Concerted efforts to acquire such sites in the area have been ongoing by the Department since 2012, in the context of expected requirements at both primary and post-primary level.

A number of site options were assessed in the south Dublin city area. When Roslyn Park came onto the market, the Department recognised the valuable opportunity to acquire a site in the area that could help to address school provision requirements. The Department successfully completed the acquisition and it is intended to provide permanent accommodation for Shellybanks Educate Together national school and Dublin South City Educate Together secondary school on the Roslyn Park site. Plans for the site's development are currently being progressed. In the first instance, it is intended that the provision of temporary accommodation on the Roslyn Park site will allow Shellybanks Educate Together national school to move from its current temporary location in the RDS to Roslyn Park in September 2018. This will be closely followed by the development of a new permanent 16-classroom primary school on the Roslyn Park site from September 2019. It is intended that this level of accommodation will then facilitate the move to Roslyn Park of the new Dublin South City Educate Together secondary school from September 2019. Planning and design work is under way to ensure the permanent accommodation for the secondary school will be provided on the Roslyn Park site as soon as possible thereafter. Arrangements are being made in Dublin 4 for interim accommodation for the Dublin South City Educate Together secondary school for its first intake of pupils for September 2018. The Department is working closely with the patron body, Educate Together, on these arrangements.

In the context of meeting demographic needs, in addition to the above, the Harold's Cross greyhound stadium site was identified as a suitable location for the provision of further school accommodation in the south Dublin city area. A feasibility study of the site concluded that the property is suitable for the provision of a significant level of additional new school accommodation. Agreement with the Irish Greyhound Board on the proposed acquisition was reached, subject to a change of zoning on the property. That change was recently effected at a meeting of Dublin City Council. The acquisition of this site by the Department is currently at an advanced stage.

With regard to the specific school provision on the Harold's Cross site, the Department is currently engaged in a review of demographics which will determine the extent of additional school provision required nationwide. Until this final review of demographics has been completed, it would be premature to announce the exact configuration of permanent school provision at the site. The intention is to have that review completed by the end of the year, although it might be subject to some minor drift. Once a new school requirement has been established from the demographic exercise, a separate process will be conducted to establish which patron will run the new school. It will be open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons to apply for patronage of a new school under the patronage process. Parental preferences for each patron, together with the extent of diversity currently available in the area, are key to the outcome of this process. I assure the Senator that the Department is working to ensure sufficient and diverse school provision in the south Dublin city area in line with its emerging requirements.

I do not have the planning permission timelines to which the Senator referred, but I will get that information for him. The design stage is being worked out in conjunction with the patron and I will get the details of that to the Senator at a later stage. I do not share his concerns regarding the provision of on-site temporary accommodation. Such arrangements have worked out well elsewhere and the Department of Education and Skills has acquired a lot of experience in managing temporary schools on sites of new schools. It is a common way of managing the process which has helped us in recent years, under the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government and the current Government, to react to development pressures and provide accommodation where needed as quickly as possible. I am not aware of any ill effects of this approach.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response and his commitment to ensuring the additional information I require will be forwarded to me as quickly as possible. My concern regarding the operation of temporary accommodation on the build site relates not only to building issues, but also to the question of how to maintain temporary access and the possible knock-on effect of such access. We need to have a full conversation around these issues to ensure any problems that arise are ironed out at an early stage.

In regard to the demographic study that was carried out of the catchment area, only Dublin 6 and Dublin 8 were included in that catchment area. In regard to the proposed secondary school on the Harold's Cross greyhound track site, there is an urgent need to incorporate Dublin 6W, including Terenure and Kimmage, into the consideration. Many of the local primary schools that will feed into the new school are in those catchment areas. It is not viable for a child in Terenure or Harold's Cross to travel to a secondary school in Sandymount, for example, on the coastal side of the constituency. There is an urgent need for clarity as parents of primary school children in the area are making decisions now as to where those children will attend at second level. The Minister of State indicated that a final review of demographics will be completed by the end of the year but we need clarity as to whether we are looking at a broader catchment area for Harold's Cross. Will all of Terenure and Kimmage and parts of Crumlin be included? That is the ultimate test for the viability of a secondary school there. Parents who have children moving into secondary school in the coming years are very anxious because there are so few places. There is a degree of panic as to whether they should be saving hard given that, as it stands, there are no secondary school choices in the area other than fee-paying ones. I would appreciate if the Minister could come back on those issues as soon as possible.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I will make sure the Minister gets back to the Senator without delay. The purchase of this key site for educational purposes is something I would expect to be welcomed by all.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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It is very much welcomed.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The intention is that the new facility will solve all the problems the Senator raised. I cannot comment, however, on which areas it will cover. The demographic analysis is looking at all the available options to ensure accommodation is found for all pupils who need it over the course of the coming years. Up to date data from birth certificates and child benefit records are utilised to work out predictions of numbers. Apart from dealing with the pressures of today and next year, we are looking at what will be required in five, six, seven and eight years time. The resulting analysis dictates where new schools are needed or extensions to existing facilities required. The Harold's Cross site was purchased in order to meet an identified need and I have no doubt it will provide a good solution.

On the necessity of having a conversation around issues relating to temporary on-site accommodation, that is what happens in the course of the planning process. I have no doubt there will be ample time for all those issues to be addressed. We have had great success in recent years in dealing with such matters. The conversation does have to happen, which is why we have a planning process.