Seanad debates

Tuesday, 1 October 2024

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Schools Building Projects

12:00 pm

Photo of Marie SherlockMarie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. There is a certain irony to the fact that we are discussing the fate of the school building project for Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire on budget day, given that €4.9 billion has been spent on school building projects in the State since 2020 and yet this school has waited 22 years for a new school building. It has watched the Celtic tiger come and go, the physical condition of the building deteriorate for all that time and in spite of that, the school community has thrived. That has been in spite of those physical school surroundings, however. In 2008, a site was identified for this school. That is 16 years ago. It took another eight years for the Department to approve a school building. We have had turf wars between the Department of public expenditure and reform and the Department of Education during that time about the construction of this school but it was only in 2023 that the sod was finally turned.On that day, where there were many smiles, sunshine and finally a hope that a breakthrough was going to be made, the understanding was that we would have a new school building on Dominick Street for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on 8 June 2025. Just eight months before that date, there are only five people working on the site, the building has hardly come out of the ground and we do not have any realistic prospect of seeing that school built before the end of 2026.

I get that the Department and successive Ministers for Education have prioritised certain projects and given political backing to certain schools. This school has not felt the benefit of that. Every step along the way, the school community, the parents, the board of management and the principal have had to fight tooth and nail. It is completely unacceptable that eight months before the project should be completed, we are at a stalemate. Yes, we hear that a school building project manager has been appointed and there is some indication of meetings taking place, but we have no date for when completion is expected. I ask the Department today to provide some sort of assurance to the school community that they are going to get their school building as soon as possible and not be forced into a fresh round of having to fight tooth and nail. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age, particularly with the amount of money that is being spent. This is not just about money; it is also about prioritisation within the Department for the delivery of this school.

I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's clarification on the completion date and precisely what is happening with the school building project at this point in time.

Photo of Jennifer Carroll MacNeillJennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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If it were the case that political backing for a school was beneficial and actually delivered things, I would have delivered the Dún Laoghaire Educate Together National School four years ago. Instead, I am in the same negotiations on behalf of the parents and children of Dún Laoghaire Educate Together National School. We are trying to work through planning permission difficulties, changes and tender processes. If it were the case that a school were to benefit from political backing, by way of example, Dún Laoghaire Educate Together National School in my constituency would have been finished by now. I do not accept that point.

The Senator is quite right to identify the scale of funding that is there and has already been deployed, but it is always about delivery. That is a common theme in the Seanad this morning. The major building project for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Dominick Street is, as Senator Sherlock is aware, included in the Department of Education's construction programme being delivered under the national development plan. The project brief for this large-scale capital project, involving the construction of a 16-classroom primary school on a brownfield site, consists of a four-storey 13-classroom block with ancillary rooms facing Dominick Street; a five-storey block with administration services, library and resource rooms on the corner of Dominick Place and Dominick Street; an elevated first-floor bridge block containing three classrooms facing Dominick Place; and a general purpose hall with a basement for service rooms to the rear of the site on Granby Row. The brief was initially for an eight-classroom school. The site was purchased from Dublin City Council. The Department of Education says that the project is a priority for it and that significant resources have been made to advance the project. One key thing I am sure the Senator is aware of is that the site is in an area of archaeological interest and abuts a protected structure, which is owned and occupied by Youth Work Ireland.

Works commenced on the site on 30 June 2023 with an estimated completion timeframe of 24 months. Issues have arisen on site, mainly due to the constrained nature of the city centre location and the historic nature of the area. The Department of Education has responded to and continues to engage with the design team and contractor to discuss the matter and resolve issues to reduce any risk to the programme. Given the complexity of the build, and it is a complex build, the Department of Education sanctioned the appointment of a project manager on the project who has commenced identification of the key issues currently affecting the project's success, and is developing various proposals and strategies to remedy the issues, identify and realign the full project teams roles and agree the project delivery timelines and goals.

The Department has worked extensively with the design team and contractor to minimise project delays, ensure clean lines of communication and identify methods of improving the project. An example of this is the development of a building information model system that will encourage collaborative working between all disciplines involved in the project. That system is now in place. The Department believes it will be hugely beneficial to the project as all parties share the same information simultaneously. Progress has been made on the site. An update on the final programme of the project is expected from the project manager shortly.

I will also tell Senator Sherlock, as I have time, that the Department continues to be in contact with the school authorities, with the latest meeting on 30 September 2024 for a full brief on the current situation.A further meeting is scheduled for 21 October 2024 between the Department of Education, the school and the appointed project managers to outline the programme for the remainder of the project. It is much further ahead, therefore, than Dún Laoghaire Educate Together. There is substantial engagement with the Department and the school but, of course, what the Senator wants, on behalf of the people she represents, is the delivery of the school.

Photo of Marie SherlockMarie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. From what I have heard, we still have no date for completion. We hear that meetings are taking place and I am in contact with the school community, which is being informed of meetings, but we are not clear on what key changes are going to ensure the project is progressed. I have full respect for the Minister of State's campaign for Dún Laoghaire Educate Together, but Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire is dealing with the trauma of what happened to that school and its community last November. We have monthly meetings between public representatives and the school community and there are a lot of soothing words about what supports have been and will be put in place for the school community, but the most crucial aspect of all of that is the new school building and the Department of Education has dropped the ball.

It was only when the school community kicked up in September that this series of processes was put in place. It should not be like that. It should not fall to the school management to have to raise its hand and ask what is happening here. My appeal today should be about not just Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire but any other school project in the country that has been delayed. The Department of Education has a job to do, namely, to get the school buildings built, and it should not be the responsibility of the principal and the board of management to kick up a fuss. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age that we are having these conversations.

Photo of Jennifer Carroll MacNeillJennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I completely agree with the Senator but it is a complex build in an area of architectural interest, which makes things more difficult. It sounds like an excellent design and I hope that, when the building has been completed, it will help move the school forward. The Senator is correct; the physical building is as important, in many ways, in moving forward as are the different traumatic supports that are there for the school. I hope to see delivery. A common theme among all the issues I have dealt with in the Seanad this morning relates to delivery, communication and efficiency. To be fair to the Department, a slightly different approach seems to be being taken on this school from that which I have seen for others, and it is a welcome development to see that level of integration on the management of the project. I hope it will continue to do that and that the school will be delivered at the earliest opportunity.

Photo of Martin ConwayMartin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending and for yet again providing her prepared contributions in an accessible format. That is much appreciated. I wish her Department the best of luck with the budget this afternoon. I hope it will achieve its asks.