Maire Devine (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. I believe it is his first time addressing a Commencement matter for me in this Chamber. I want him to be generous and to act boldly with regard to the matter I raise.

Like the majority of parents, I wanted a more progressive education for my children. Accordingly, I was part of the parents group which established the successful Educate Together school at Griffith Barracks on South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Obtaining the premises for the school was quite a battle. That is why I am particularly passionate about the Canal Way Educate Together project. I hope the Department will be more proactive than it was 18 years ago.

When I was segregated across the road at the Mater Dei national school, now St. James's primary school, my brothers attended CBS James Street, which is now where the Canal Way Educate Together school is located. I welcome the students, parents and the teachers from Canal Way school to the Visitors Gallery. When I visited the school last week, I noted the atmosphere was about creativity, spontaneity, respect, co-operation and fun which was evident in every classroom. It is the opposite to what my brothers put up with in the CBS. However, this creativity and modern schooling is confined and constricted by the lack of space for expansion, the dire conditions of the building with poor heating, toilet facilities and opaque windows which the kids cannot see through and the lease. The school was the first to be divested from Catholic patronage of religious orders under a previous Minister. However, it was given a paltry ten-year lease in 2014. The school's board of management was not consulted and had no input regarding its terms and conditions. It is at the mercy of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to do any building works, upgrading or expansion. This is untenable.

There are six years remaining on the lease. How can the children, teachers, principal, parents and community function securely with such a short-term miserable lease? This is causing chaos and anxiety for parents. There is nowhere else to enrol their children. Why should they have to go anywhere else? My neighbour, for example, put her son's name on the school's waiting list four years ago when he was one month old. However, he cannot be accommodated at the school this September. I have been stopped on the streets and in shops and have received emails and phone calls on the subject. It is a massive issue for Dublin 8, but one that is repeated across the country.

The school is unique, offering a modern education system to nurture our children and our communities. Will the Minister get the lease and security of tenure for this school? In turn, this will allow growth and expansion of the school, which is in such high demand. Will the Minister please just do it?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Devine for raising this issue which has already been raised with me by Deputies Catherine Byrne, Ó Snodaigh and Senator Bacik. I know this is a valuable school, treasured within its community. Canal Way Educate Together school is a co-educational school which opened in September 2013 in Harcourt Terrace.Subsequently, in 2014, the school moved to a former primary school building in Basin Lane that was secured as part of Government policy on school divesting. The school had 240 pupils enrolled at September 2017 and staffing of a principal, nine mainstream teachers and three resource posts. The existing accommodation at Basin Lane consists of ten mainstream classrooms, which are sufficient to meet the school's current enrolment numbers. To facilitate its development, the school has submitted an application to my Department for additional accommodation.

The Basin Lane building is subject to a ten-year and nine-month lease between the Edmund Rice Schools Trust and the Minister for Education and Skills, which, in turn, has been subleased by the Department to Educate Together, which is the patron body. Any building works require consent of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust under the lease. In that connection, my Department has been liaising with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to secure its consent to the placement of temporary accommodation on the school site. I am pleased to confirm that the Edmund Rice Schools Trust has agreed a licence agreement that will allow for the provision of an additional six mainstream classrooms and three resource rooms to the school. An approval letter devolving authority for the delivery of the classrooms concerned has been issued by my Department to the school. My Department will be in ongoing contact with the school to provide relevant assistance with this project. I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I can assure her that my Department will continue to liaise with the school regarding its accommodation needs.

John O'Mahony (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator want a brief supplementary?

Maire Devine (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for liaising with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust but I guess the word that stands out for me is temporary. It is not going to solve the problem. Will the Minister visit the school? I know he cannot visit every school in the country. I understand his workload but this is the first one to be divested and I think it would send out a great message and follow on from Government policy to divest schools to communities and let communities run and have ownership of them. I would like the Minister to visit the school and I invite him, as do the principal, parents and children. Will he negotiate with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to buy this school? Is he in that negotiation space or are we just still talking about temporary accommodation? I appreciate the nuances in divestment but the Minister needs to be bold. We need to grab this and ensure that our children have the modern schooling they deserve so this country and the culture changes. Again, it is all well and good but please omit the word "temporary". It needs to be permanent security.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The matter of purchasing a property is something that would have to be considered by the Department in a wider context. We try to avoid purchasing sites in many cases where we can secure leases on good terms. Most of the properties we have are owned by patrons rather than the Department. The Department builds or provides facilities with a lien to ensure those properties are put to educational use. From an Exchequer point of view, that has been a satisfactory way to interact with patrons. What the Senator is suggesting would require some reflection by the Department as to whether it ought to move from such arrangements to a different arrangement. I do not have a fixed view on this. I would say that in the short term, the Department is fully committed in terms of capital to meet what is now an estimated 20,000 additional places we must provide every year. That does mean that we must be fairly careful with the use of capital. Site acquisition is pretty much confined to areas where we must acquire a site for a new school where we have those commitments. Site acquisition is adopted when it is necessary, not as a routine approach. I am not closing my mind to that but what is important is that under the existing arrangement, we have permission to allow the school develop. My Department will obviously be working with the school to ensure that its longer-term plans can be delivered in this way. I cannot commit today to visiting any particular school but I will bear in mind the kind invitation issued by the principal. When I get an opportunity to go out and about, as I try to do, I will certainly consider a visit to this school.