Seanad debates

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

School Accommodation Provision

2:30 pm

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Joe McHugh, to the House.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to talk again about St. Joseph's secondary school in Rush. The Minister will recall that I had a Commencement matter on 6 November last on the urgent need to provide temporary accommodation and he announced that day that the application had been approved. We spoke then about the need for a permanent new school building for St. Joseph's in Rush. I wish to remind the Minister that St Joseph's is a school with 1,000 pupils and it is the only secondary school in the town of Rush. Rush and all the towns in north county Dublin are expanding rapidly. It is the fastest growing part of the country with the youngest population. Obviously, there is a very strong demand there for primary and post-primary school places.

The capacity issue needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The Minister approved four prefabricated buildings at that time because there was a crisis. There are 102 students on the waiting list for places in September 2019 who could not be offered places. Thankfully, that issue has been resolved. I mentioned at the time that there was no extra capacity to expand in the school.Enrolments in the primary schools in the town of Rush had indicated a similar demand for places next year and into the future. At that time, the Minister said he was actively pursuing a site for the school. St. Joseph's has an excellent reputation in Rush and beyond. Its principal, Ms Patricia Hayden, and the teaching staff in the school do an excellent job. It is a DEIS school and it is linked into the Trinity access programme. There is 100% progression to third level and apprenticeships from the school, which the Minister will agree is exceptional. This year, the school had six entries in the BT Young Scientist exhibition. As there was only one other school in the country with a higher number of entries, that is an exceptional record, particularly when one considers that the school does not have sufficient science laboratories. All credit must go to the principal, the teaching staff and all the other staff in the school and, of course, the commitment of the parents to the school.

The young people of Rush want to be educated in this school. They demand to be educated in it, but capacity makes that very difficult. It is worth noting that secondary schools in the neighbouring towns of Lusk and Skerries are also experiencing capacity issues and as such they will not be able to accept any overflow of students from Rush. On 6 November last the Minister said that a site was being acquired. However, when my colleague, Councillor Brian Dennehy, a Fingal county councillor who lives in Rush and whose children attend St. Joseph's, tabled a motion on the matter to Fingal County Council on 8 November, he was told by a senior official of the council that there was no instruction from the Department of Education and Skills to acquire a site. As I understand it, this remains the position. We were all dismayed with the response received to Councillor Dennehy's motion because we had been led to believe that this announcement was imminent. There has been land zoned in the town for the school for ten years. Following on from the work of Councillor Brian Dennehy in Rush, upgrading works on the Park Road are due to commence imminently, which will allow for access to that site. When will the Minister issue a request to Fingal County Council to acquire this site and when will construction on the new school commence?

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it allows me the opportunity to clarify the position in respect of St. Joseph’s secondary school, Rush, County Dublin. I acknowledge that my colleague, Senator James Reilly, has kept me up to speed on this issue. The school is currently located at Convent Lane, Rush and consists of a number of buildings, some permanent accommodation and others prefabricated accommodation. The site is limited for development due to its size and location in the centre of the village in a settled residential area and it was determined that a new site was required to facilitate provision of sufficient permanent accommodation for the school.

The school’s trustees recently confirmed to my Department that they are not in a position to provide a site to accommodate a new school building. Following on from this, officials of my Department have requested the assistance of officials in Fingal County Council in procuring a site for the school under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites. Under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites, local authorities assist my Department with the process of identifying and acquiring sites for the development of school accommodation. The first step in this process is the identification of suitable sites by the local authorities. The identified sites are then technically assessed on a joint basis by officials from the local authorities and my Department's professional and technical staff.

Senator Clifford-Lee will appreciate the importance of a thorough appraisal of site options at this point to ensure the achievement of value for money and to minimise the potential of any issues arising during the planning and development stages. The relevant local area plan provides for the location of a post-primary school site in the Kenure area of Rush. My Department understands that this site was reserved by Fingal County Council on foot of representations made on behalf of St. Joseph’s secondary school. Access issues have to date inhibited the potential development of this site but Fingal County Council is currently working to deliver a new roadway which would facilitate such development. Engagement between my officials and council officials in respect of the potential acquisition of this site is currently ongoing. It is difficult to indicate a timeline for the completion of the acquisition of a site for the school in question as it is dependent on the outcome of current negotiations and also on the complexity of the conveyancing process.Once a site has been acquired the project can progress to architectural planning.

I assure the Senator, however, that my Department is cognisant of the school's current accommodation constraints. The Department received an application for temporary accommodation from the school. Subsequently, it issued approval, in principle, to the board of management for the rental of two science laboratories - one being a technical graphics or design communication graphics room and one general classroom, as an interim measure, pending delivery of the permanent school building. The responsibility for the installation of this accommodation has been devolved to the school authority for delivery.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir faoi choinne an tseans labhairt leis an Seanad inniu ar an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry, but it is unsatisfactory to say that the engagement is ongoing. We have been led to believe that acquisition was imminent. Fingal County Council require a direction from the Minister and his Department to acquire the site. The site has been zoned for ten years so it has been sitting there. The access issues have been resolved. The upgrade of the park road is imminent and should be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year. There is no reason the Minister cannot issue the instruction to acquire the site. It is not good enough for him to come in here and say engagement is "ongoing" and claim there are complex conveyancing reasons. This is completely unacceptable. We have been led to believe by plenty of local representatives that this project is a done deal, there will be a new school and the devil and all will be done. It is clear from the Minister's reply that the acquisition is not imminent. It is an absolute disgrace that children in Rush are on this site without a playing pitch, a library and with inadequate science and woodwork rooms. There is simply a capacity issue. Next year there will not be any room. There is no room for any further prefabs on this site. There will be great anger in Rush when people realise that the Minister is not even on the verge of issuing the instruction to acquire the site.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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For the purpose of clarification, it is important for me to point out what my role is, as Minister, in site acquisitions. I do not issue instructions to buy a preferred site. There is a memorandum of understanding, which is an engagement between the local authority, not just Fingal County Council but all local authorities, and the Department of Education and Skills. As part of that process, there is a communication between Department officials and Fingal County Council to ensure that a number of preferred sites are put on the table. It is up to them to ensure the communication is open and transparent. The Senator stated that a county councillor said that there is no engagement going on between officials-----

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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A senior official from Fingal County Council called Coilín O'Reilly-----

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I am not going to allow this.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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-----in a response to a motion tabled by Councillor Brian Dennehy-----

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I have been very fair to the Senator.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Let us clarify that.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Let us find out who is not telling whom the right information.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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As far as I am concerned, my officials are engaging. That process has started so now we have to-----

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Ultimately, the Minister issues the instruction to buy the site.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Clifford-Lee, please allow the Minister to conclude.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Now we have to ensure that we prioritise the younger people who are looking for a satisfactory building for their education. That is my priority.

The Senator has raised an issue and claimed that there is a blockage in communications. Let us get to the bottom of the matter. Let us find out and continue the work that we do on a bipartisan and cross-political basis. My engagement, whether it is with Senator Reilly or Senator Clifford-Lee, I am happy to find out what the problem is here. Let us find out what the problem is and get to the bottom of it. Importantly, I do not decide-----

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Please-----

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We are three minutes over time so please let the Minister conclude. If Senators are not happy, and I cannot allow Senator Reilly in, then this matter can be revisited again. Three other Members are waiting for-----

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I am happy to come back to Senator with any information.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The purchase of the site is not imminent.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The purchase of the site is not imminent.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Please, Senator.

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Fine Gael)
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That is not correct.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister clarified that.

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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That is not correct.

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister clarified that the acquisition is not imminent.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Never the twain might meet. I thank the Minister and we will move on to the next matter.

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Senator Clifford-Lee's information is out of date. I was in contact with Fingal County Council earlier and it confirmed that it is liaising with the Department to acquire a site.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I cannot allow the Senator in.

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Fine Gael)
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It is important that that information is on the record of the House.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I do not want any argy-bargy involving two Senators who live in the same constituency. I am trying to be fair to everybody and there are other matters to be dealt with. I am sure this matter will be revisited, perhaps when I am gone.