Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking the time to answer this very important question on Ardgillan community college. The latter is located in the town of Balbriggan in north County Dublin. It not only serves Balbriggan but also surrounding villages such as Balrothery and the Naul. Along with the rest of Fingal, Balbriggan is in the fastest-growing part of the country and has the youngest population in the State. As a result, school provision is very important in Balbriggan.

The school in question is under the patronage of the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board. Phase 1 of the school opened in 2009 and phase 2 was opened in 2015, with the school population increasing to 1,000 as a result. It is an excellent school that has excelled academically and in sports, music and the arts. The school has very high standards and, because it is very popular, there are long waiting lists for entry every year.

Last October, significant structural defects in phase 1, which is the 18-classroom first section of the school, were discovered. This discovery prompted urgent structural assessment of 30 schools built by Western Building Systems that included schools in Greystones, Tyrrelstown and Mulligar. The students in the phase 1 building in Ardgillan community college are now being housed in the nearby Castlelands community centre but this is far from ideal. It leads to the school lacking structure and being disjointed. I do not think anybody is happy with the current situation. They accepted it was a temporary situation.

The school has requested the provision of temporary Portakabin accommodation but has received no information from the Department of Education and Skills on the provision of these Portakabins. Could the Minister tell me whether this request will be granted, whether the Portakabins be on site and when they will be on site? When will phase 1 be reopened? This is very important. Now that we are coming into the summer months, it is vital that as much work as possible be done in Ardgillan community college in order to bring it up to scratch for September. The situation is very difficult for all the students concerned, their parents and the teaching staff despite the best efforts of the school principal, Michael O'Leary, and all the staff. People in Balbriggan, Balrothery and the Naul are very concerned about the school. I have been out canvassing with Niall Keady in Balbriggan and this issue comes up very regularly on the doorsteps. It is a very real topic now that we are coming into the local elections. People are asking Mr. Keady and me about what is happening, which is why I have raised it here today. What is happening? Many parents with children in St. Molaga's national school, who have been studying in really bad 19-year-old prefabs, are very dismayed at the thought that their children will now go into Ardgillan community college despite it being an excellent school because they must contend with temporary and insecure accommodation for their secondary education so it is a really important issue and we need answers and, more importantly, action.