Seanad debates
Monday, 10 May 2021
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
School Accommodation
10:30 am
Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit freisin. Tá mé an-bhuíoch di as ucht teacht anseo chun labhairt linn ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. Tá a fhios agam go gcuirfidh sí an t-eolas os comhair an Aire Oideachais freisin. As the Minister of State will be aware, Gaelscoil Laighean, the only non-denominational Gaelscoil in the Dún Laoghaire area, opened in September 2019. It was the result of a plebiscite that took place in the Blackrock-Booterstown area on foot of a decision by the Department to establish a primary school in that area. There was a substantial plebiscite. I was a councillor in the area at the time and was quite involved in the matter so I know how much there was behind the decision of parents in the area to say they wanted a Gaelscoil specifically in that area. That is what succeeded, and An Foras Pátrúnachta was given patronage of the school. The school opened in September 2019 in temporary accommodation in Deansgrange, or Kill of the Grange, in a former restaurant on Kill Lane and has been there since. It is a small area, and the reality is that the space provided for Gaelscoil Laighean prevents it from growing beyond its present size.
The Minister of State will be aware that in recent weeks it has come out from the Department of Education that accommodation is now being provided for the school in the former senior college in Dún Laoghaire, on Eblana Avenue. This is problematic for a whole number of reasons. It is something I initially welcomed because I understood that parents were happy with it, having spoken to a wide variety of people who are part of the school community of Gaelscoil Laighean: parents, teachers and the principal. I know now that that is not the case and I can identify very clearly the reasons why it does not work. I was surprised in the first instance because the site is outside the catchment area originally envisaged for this school. This is a school for the Blackrock-Booterstown area. A move to Dún Laoghaire makes no sense. In addition, the building that is proposed, the former senior college, is in quite a dilapidated state, so I had initially thought the school would have the benefit of a fully renovated building. In fact, it will have only the ground floor, which is not very much bigger than where the school is now. It will not have the benefit of the full building.
The building itself is in very poor condition and is directly opposite what is now a building site on Eblana Avenue, so the level of disruption to the students, teachers and parents of the school will be huge. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, there are no play facilities, there is no yard and there is no area where the kids can train or get involved in sports. At least where they are in Deansgrange is next to Clonkeen Park and a hall at the Church of Ireland Church in Kill of the Grange, so there are facilities available to them.
The move to Dún Laoghaire will massively encumber parents. People who have put their lives on hold, changed jobs and changed address to be within the catchment area of this school will now have to drive to Dún Laoghaire, where previously they walked their children to school. When they get to Dún Laoghaire, there will be no point to drop off children. They will be on a busy narrow lane in Dún Laoghaire town where there is lots of traffic, including lots of construction traffic. All things considered, the decision by the Department of Education to move the school to this location, even on a temporary basis, is nonsensical. It has caused enormous upset among the school community and will cause massive disruption for the parents and families, and for the grandparents who are often involved in bringing children to or from school,and looking after them after school.
I raise this issue because it seems there has been an extraordinary level of misinformation about it. There are rumours about a site at the former council depot in Mount Anville. There are also rumours about a site elsewhere. Parents do not know what is happening. We were told initially that this was a permanent move and now we are told it is interim accommodation. Parents are entitled to certainty and clarity about what is happening here. They are entitled to a school in the Blackrock-Booterstown area, where they were told it would be. They were initially given the impression that they would get a site at the top of Newtownpark Avenue, which would appear to be perfect in all the circumstances, and now it seems that might be going to another school.
My ask to the Minister of State, which I know she will pass on directly to the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, is to please give us some clarity and certainty and take on board all of the reasonable objections of the parents and members of this school community to the location currently proposed for just a few months hence.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ward for raising this matter. I am happy to clarify the position with regard to the development of permanent accommodation for Gaelscoil Laighean.
As a result of the nationwide demographic exercise carried out by the Department into the future need for primary and post-primary schools in the State, the requirement for a new eight-classroom primary school to service the Blackrock-Booterstown area was announced by the Government. Gaelscoil Laighean was established, as the Senator correctly pointed out, in 2019 under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta. Gaelscoil Laighean is currently located in interim accommodation at Kill Lane, Deansgrange, County Dublin, that can facilitate two mainstream classrooms and ancillary space.
It must be noted that the school authorities were informed before occupying Kill Lane that it would only be for a two-year period. They were told that at the outset. They were aware that a move to an alternative interim accommodation would be required for the 2021 academic year to cater for the school's growing enrolments. As a result, I understand that officials in the Department have put in place the necessary arrangements to relocate Gaelscoil Laighean to the premises at Eblana Avenue in Dún Laoghaire. I heard the Senator's comments on that matter and I will return to them later. This premises is under the ownership of the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board. This alternative interim accommodation will suitably accommodate the school's growing enrolments for the academic years 2021 and 2022. The Department issued verbal and written communications, on Wednesday 28 April, informing the patron of these arrangements. My officials understand that the school was informed of this communication on the very same day.
The Department remains committed to providing a permanent accommodation solution for Gaelscoil Laighean and a project to deliver this accommodation has been included in the Department's six-year capital programme. The Senator will be aware that the acquisition of a site is required to facilitate the delivery of this project. He will also appreciate that the acquisition of school sites in highly developed urban areas where land is extremely scarce presents particular challenges for the Department. This has, unsurprisingly, proven to be the case in the Blackrock-Booterstown school planning area. While a number of potential site options were identified - and I note the Senator's comments on those - with the assistance of officials in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, to date all but two sites have proven unsuitable or unavailable for acquisition. Officials in the Department are currently in discussions with county council officials on these two potential school site options for two primary schools in the local authority area, one of which is Gaelscoil Laighean. Good progress has been made to determine the optimum configuration of school sites within Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in recent weeks.
Once a site for the school has been secured, the project to deliver the school's permanent accommodation can be progressed into the architectural planning process without delay. I assure the Senator that I am very conscious of the difficulties contended with by the school authorities and the families. In this regard, the acquisition will continue to be treated as a priority for the Department and I will bring it to the attention of the Minister, as the Senator has requested, and to the planning and building unit of the Department. I understand that officials are working to advance this project as expeditiously as possible.
The Senator referred to Newtownpark Avenue.My understanding is that the site located at that particular place will accommodate the newly established Booterstown, Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire Educate Together secondary school. No assurance has been given to parents around locating Gaelscoil Laighean at that venue.
Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate what the Minister of State said. In fact, her office is the only one that has been able to give me any kind of concrete information on this matter, so I am grateful to her for that. However, I cannot accept the official response that the Eblana Avenue site is suitable for the reasons I mentioned. I acknowledge the Deansgrange site was always meant to be an interim one. The school authorities know that and nobody is denying it. My understanding is that identification of another primary school for the Dún Laoghaire area was made in the Sallynoggin-Killiney area, which has been given as a patronage to Educate Together. This is all very welcome but my understanding is now the proposal is to move that school into the premises at Deansgrange and move Gaelscoil Laighean to Dún Laoghaire.
I cannot see the sense in that proposal either. The school authorities have no problem with the fact that they are in interim accommodation. They want to move, but not further outside their catchment area. The proposal seems to be for them to move into the catchment area of the new Educate Together for Sallynoggin-Killiney and further outside the Blackrock-Booterstown catchment area for Gaelscoil Laighean. They do not want to do that and it makes no sense. I welcome that the Minister of State said it is was a priority to find a site for Gaelscoil Laighean, but why not leave it where it is until a permanent suitable site for the school can be found?
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue. As I said at the outset, a number of site options for a permanent location are being explored. He will understand that there are technical, complex issues around that. I hear what he said about the absence of play facilities in the area and that Dún Laoghaire is not in the catchment area. I also note his argument about the dilapidation and the fact he was involved in the plebiscite from the very beginning. I obviously cannot confirm or deny any rumours regarding a particular permanent site for this school, but it is in the capital programme. This matter is a priority for the Department and I intend to make sure that I raise it with the Minister to ensure that these children will be accommodated in a way that will be a satisfactory, permanent solution for all the parents involved in the Blackrock and Booterstown area. I appreciate the Senator's concern and his comments on this matter.