Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The father of the House is here, and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan.

Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad to respond to my question on school provision in Swords, County Dublin. Swords is the largest town in Ireland. It currently has a population of over 45,000 and is expanding at a rapid pace. However, there is a school placement crisis in the Fosterstown area. Significant housing development is planned for this area of Swords, with over 3,000 homes planned in the coming years. That will make the current bad situation in Rivervalley and Fosterstown even worse.That is what I want to talk about today. There is an insufficient number of school places at this end of Swords. Schools have been provided in recent years at the other end of the town but this particular area has a very high population of young people that is expanding and there are not enough school places.

A site for a school on Forest Road has been identified in the Fosterstown master plan. Rivervalley community national school opened its doors a number of weeks ago and while the addition of this school to the area is very welcome and has given relief to some families, it is located in the Riasc Centre in Drinan, which is a 45-minute walk from Rivervalley. There is no public transport available and there is severe traffic congestion in that particular area. It is far from ideal to have the school located on this temporary site. People are crying out for a permanent school building on Forest Road.

This issue has been raised by my council colleagues on a number of occasions and council officials have told them that it is up to the Department of Education and Skills to issue a request to Fingal County Council to purchase the site and start the development. It is essential that the school is built before all of the houses are developed in the area and before the crisis gets completely out of hand. A permanent school building on Forest Road in Swords must be built. There is a massive deficit in the provision of school places. I call on the Minister of State to give a commitment to the people of Swords that the Department will go ahead and give the signal to Fingal County Council to purchase this site because the fear is that if it is not done now, the site will be lost to housing.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for raising this very important matter and I hope the answer I provide today will be sufficient. I wish to apologise on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, who, at the last minute, was unable to attend today. Again, I thank Senator Clifford-Lee for raising the matter and am happy to clarify the position in respect of the delivery of permanent accommodation for Rivervalley community national school in Swords.

As the Senator knows, following a nationwide demographic exercise, it was determined that a new primary school was required to be opened in Swords south in September 2019 to ensure that there was sufficient primary school places to serve the school planning area. Following on from a patronage appointment process, the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, was appointed as patron of this new school. The final grant of planning permission was received on 30 August 2019 from Fingal County Council for the development of interim accommodation for the school at 85-87 Main Street, Swords, in order to ensure that the school would open in September 2019. It was then necessary to seek alternative interim accommodation and the school opened in suitable contingency accommodation on a Department-owned site in Drinan on the south side of Swords, the area which the school was established to serve. The school is located there at the moment but is moving to Rivervalley. Once work has been completed on the site at 85-87 Main Street, the school will relocate to interim accommodation on that site in due course.

The Minister is committed to providing a permanent accommodation solution for the school at an early date but the acquisition of a suitable site is required to facilitate the delivery of this project. The DDLETB, as school patron, is currently advancing a site acquisition process with the assistance of the Department of Education and Skills. A potential site option in the Rivervalley area has now been identified. Following on from initial engagement with the relevant landowners, a more detailed technical assessment of the site is now being undertaken. The Senator will understand that this must be done before the site can be purchased. That said, I believe that the site in question is more than adequate. Of course the Senator will appreciate the importance of ensuring the technical feasibility of any proposed site to ensure that the required level of accommodation can be provided and to mitigate any potential planning risks to the project. I can assure Senator Clifford-Lee that the Department and the DDLETB are working to progress matters as quickly as possible. They have been in constant contact in recent weeks with a view to securing a permanent site for Rivervalley community national school at the earliest possible date.Once a site for the school has been secured, the project to deliver its permanent accommodation can be progressed to the architectural planning process. I assure the Senator that the provision of a permanent school building for River Valley community national school in a suitable location is a priority for the Department of Education and Skills and that officials are working to advance this project as quickly as possible.

Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State referred to the ongoing work at 85 to 87 Main Street in Swords. When will that work will be finished and when will the school be able to temporarily locate there? He also referred to a technical assessment. When will the technical assessment of the site on Forrest Road be completed? Will the Minister of State give a commitment that the permanent school building on Forrest Road will be delivered before any more housing comes on stream?

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I do not have an answer to the Senator's first question, but I will speak to the Department as soon as I leave and ensure that officials reply to her. With regard to the site acquisition process, all I know is that it is currently being advanced. I am informed that it is at an advanced stage and that the Department has accepted the necessity to deliver this building as soon as possible. The Senator will appreciate the importance of ensuring that assessments of technical feasibility are carried out on the site to ensure that everything is in order. I have been informed that the site is fine and grand. I have asked for a timeline but I do not have it. I am, however, assured by the Department that we will have such a timeline in the coming weeks. I will make it my business to ensure the Senator is provided with that timeline as soon as possible.

Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I will write to him and the Minister with a view to getting that timeline.