Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I appreciate the Minister of State's attendance. This is an important issue. Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire is a primary school that has been located in temporary facilities - the Minister of State may struggle to believe this - for 23 years. To give a perspective on the human impact of that amount of time, the principal, Paul Hansard, a very fine principal and school teacher, attended the school himself. He went to secondary school, college, became a teacher and has been the principal for a number of years. That gives a perspective of how long the school has been in temporary accommodation. The cost is hundreds of thousands of euro every year. I will not get into the monetary cost of what has been spent by the State in providing inadequate education facilities for the finest young children and teachers in the country. I am biased because I am based in Dublin Central, but they are the finest. The páistí and múinteoirí are fantastic people.

It was my great privilege as a city councillor over a decade ago, with other councillors, to transfer land so that school could have a permanent, purpose-built building on Dominick Street. I made it number one on the agenda when Fianna Fáil went into government in 2020 that Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire have a purpose-built school. I give credit to Deputy Foley, because it was to our great satisfaction that, during the previous Government term, the purpose-built school commenced. The design was already prepared, with world-class architects and construction companies involved in designing and building the school. I have been down to the site; it is a challenging site. Any place in the inner city, particularly a brownfield site, will always be challenging. We are a medieval city, too, so there are always issues around foundations and archaeology. There are Luas lines and power lines going by. We live in the real world, us Dubs. We are very practical; we understand. We have all chosen to live in the city, bring up our kids in the city and have them educated in the heart of our great capital.

I cannot tell the Minister of State how depressing it is to say that, if he and I were to go down to Dominick Street today, no work would be going on. Building work has ceased. Those páistí and múinteoirí were promised a new 16-classroom, state-of-the-art, designed and built school that would be ready for them to move into this year. It was not entirely a surprise when we got word it was delayed because we had heard about it towards the end of last year. We were given assurances by the Department that everything that could be done was being done, a project management team was in place and everything to recover the lost time and accelerate the project would be done.

As I said, though, work has stopped and there is no prospect of a date by which the school can move into its new building. That is why I submitted this Commencement matter, to ask the Minister for Education and Youth to come to the House to update not just me but, more importantly, the school community. Teachers, pupils and parents want to know the plan to get builders back on site, recommence and accelerate construction and put a date in place by which they will move into their new school building. What will happen in the interim? At this point, the best guess is some time in 2026. I hope the Minister of State has an update.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I am flabbergasted that a school project could be going on that long. From my background as a quantity surveyor working in construction, there is something amiss. We will get to the bottom of it.

I am giving the Senator this answer on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire is an all-Irish national school serving the heart of Dublin city and is currently located in rented accommodation in Parnell Square. The project brief is for the construction of a 16-classroom primary school on a brownfield site purchased from the city council.The Minister and the Department of Education and Youth are fully committed to ensuring the completion of a new school for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire as soon as possible. The site is in an area of archaeological interest and abuts a protected structure. A number of issues arose on site early in the project, which is not unusual, given the nature of a brownfield city centre site, but this led to a delay. The issues included several services on site, for example, electrical lines and services related to the adjacent Luas lines, which had not been apparent until excavation began. Throughout this project, the Department has actively engaged with the design team and contractor to discuss matters and resolve issues as they arise to reduce any risk to the programme, but these unforeseen matters led to a delay in the early stages of the project.

In response to this, the Department sanctioned the appointment of project managers last year to minimise delays on the programme and ensure clear lines of communication were in operation. Good progress was initially made following the project managers' intervention, with significant visible progress being made on the structure. Since Christmas, however, progress has slowed significantly. Departmental officials have ongoing engagement with the contractor and the design team to resolve this issue.

However, the impact of this lower level of progress on the project in quarter 1 of 2025 necessitated a conciliation hearing to try to reach agreement on a solution to ensure the earliest possible delivery of the school, which is being delivered under the Government’s standard public works contract. A conciliation process was entered into by both parties on the project and, in accordance with standard practice and contractual requirements, is of a confidential nature. A temporary pause on works for now, under the suspension of works provisions of the contract, provides an opportunity to consider outcomes from the conciliation process and the best way forward for completion of the project. The notice of suspension of works was communicated to the contractor on 23 May in accordance with the provisions of the contract.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he has been sent with a reply from the Minister for Education and Youth. It is disappointing that the Minister herself is not here, considering the importance of this school project and the unacceptable delays with it. The reply the Minister of State has been provided with - I thank him for sharing it with the House - basically confirms everything we all know. I ask him to go back to the Minister and her officials and specifically request that she Minister will meet me, the other public representatives from Dublin Central and the parents committee to discuss with us how this issue is going to be resolved, how she is going to ensure that construction recommences, and what arrangements she is going to put in place for the school so that there is a date by which the construction will be completed and those involved know where they are going to be attending come September and into next year. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could facilitate that request.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Of course, I will do that. The Department of Education and Youth remains committed to continuing to provide enhanced support on this project, including the retention of the project manager until the school is completed, and is in regular contact with the school authorities, meeting approximately every six weeks or more frequently when required. While it is not possible to put an accurate timeframe on the completion of the school until negotiations have completed, it is now prudent to plan on the basis that the completion of the school will be unavoidably delayed.

Completion of the school as quickly as possible remains a key priority for the Minister and the Department. Departmental officials will also continue to work closely with the school authority to address any interim accommodation requirements for the school pending delivery of the permanent solution and are actively looking at solutions that can be progressed quickly for the new school year.

I will bring this issue to the Minister and request that she meet Senator Fitzpatrick, other representatives in the area and the school board of management to give an outline. It is important that a programme that can be adhered to going forward be put in place.