Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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The Minister, Deputy Creed, has great knowledge of Kinsale and his father covered that area for many years. His knowledge of Kinsale is very appropriate to this matter. I am looking for movement on the Gaelscoil in Kinsale, which was established in 2007. It first got approval for a permanent structure in 2015 and, since then, it has been sitting in limbo. We have a site and we are trying to get the conveyancing sorted for the site. My office in Kinsale has been in contact with both the Chief State Solicitor's office and the Department of Education and Skills every month for the last year, trying to get movement on the conveyancing of the site. Since October 2018, it has sat in the Chief State Solicitor's office and we have been trying to get contracts out of that office since that time.

There is deep frustration in Kinsale on this issue. The Gaelscoil is a thriving school in a thriving town that just needs a little help to move forward. We have the site and we need to move forward with regard to the ownership of that site so we can move from stage 1 of the project list all the way to stage 5 in the next few years. There was an original commitment that construction would begin on this site in 2018 and we are now lagging behind because we do not have ownership of the site. In many ways, this is about making sure we can transfer the land over to the Department and then move forward with the next phases of the project.

It is a very important project for Kinsale. I want to bring to the Minister's attention that over €1 million has been spent on prefabs since 2007 and, in many ways, it is money wasted. Every day that we delay, more money is being spent on temporary prefabs, which do not suit the needs of the students. One of these prefabs had to be stood down last year because of its condition, with rain literally pouring through it. This is a significant issue for Kinsale, a thriving town that has seen its population increase by 22% in the last decade. We need to move forward with the educational campus, in particular the Gaelscoil. I hope the Department can put pressure on the Chief State Solicitor's office to sort out the conveyancing issues and get the site transferred over, so we can go through the phases to deliver this site and, in turn, deliver the school for Kinsale.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McHugh, who is unavoidably absent. As the Senator is aware, a project to provide a new school building for Gaelscoil Chionn tSáile is included in the Department of Education and Skills' capital programme. The Gaelscoil is currently operating in temporary accommodation, as the Senator said.

The project to provide the new building for the Gaelscoil required the acquisition of a site for the school. In order to secure a suitable site, the Department of Education and Skills worked closely with Cork County Council under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites and a number of site options were identified by the council. These were all thoroughly appraised for suitability by both officials from the Department of Education and Skills and from Cork County Council. The Senator will appreciate the importance of a thorough appraisal of site options at this point in order to ensure the achievement of value for money and to minimise the potential of any issues arising during the planning and development stages.

The outcome of this technical appraisal exercise was that council officials, acting on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills, entered into negotiations with the landowners of the site on which the Gaelscoil is currently located in temporary accommodation as it was deemed to be the most suitable option. Agreement in principle was reached for the proposed acquisition of the site by the Department of Education and Skills and the acquisition process has since advanced into the legal conveyancing stage. The conveyancing process remains under way as legal due diligence must be undertaken in respect of any such proposed transaction. The Senator will appreciate that, in such a process, the Department of Education and Skills is dependent on the engagement of third parties and, furthermore, the process can be subject to certain legal complexities. Therefore, timeframes for completion are outside the direct control of the Department of Education and Skills. Nevertheless, the conveyancing stage is progressing and officials from the Department of Education and Skills are working to bring this matter to a conclusion at the earliest possible date.

I can assure the Senator the school authorities are being kept appraised of progress with respect to the advancement of the site acquisition and building project for the school.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I realise it is not his brief. This issue went to the Chief State Solicitor's office in October 2018.Every week my office has contacted the Department and State solicitors for an update. While I appreciate it is not in the Minister's brief, it is very frustrating that we have no movement on it. He might ask the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, to look into the issue. We have been waiting for 13 or 14 months and have not been given a timeframe. The board of management, principal and students are in limbo, waiting for this process to finish.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate this is not a satisfactory situation from the point of view of the patron, principal, staff, parents and not least pupils. Temporary accommodation tends to drag on beyond the wishes of all parties involved. I will, of course, speak to the Minister, Deputy McHugh, on the matter and with the best of endeavour on all sides we should be able to complete the conveyancing and move to the next stage at the earliest possible date. I will commit to speak to the Minister, Deputy McHugh, on that matter on the Senator's behalf.