Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is very welcome. I thank her for giving her time this morning to take the next two Commencement matters.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and thank the Minister of State for being with us today.

I am calling on the Minister for Education and Youth to make a statement on the delivery of a new multistorey secondary school in Coachford College, Coachford, County Cork. Being from the area and having gone to school there, I know first-hand how important Coachford College is to Coachford and the wider rural catchment and hinterland it services, stretching from Aghabullogue to Donaghmore, Rylane, Inniscarra and beyond.It really is a vital service in mid-Cork. The school has been there since the seventies and it has served generations of families. The demand for places continues to grow, year on year. Currently, more than 850 students attend Coachford College and that number is expected to rise further in the years ahead. Both the staff and leadership of the school, under Cork Education and Training Board, ETB, have done outstanding work in maintaining high standards of teaching and learning despite the very real pressures on space and facilities.

Just this year, six students in Coachford College received the maximum 625 points in their leaving cert. This is something we have seen in Coachford year on year, with at least one student attaining the maximum number of points almost every year. The school's current building is no longer fit for the growing population it serves. It is no longer fit for purpose. The same prefabs that were in use when I started school there over 20 years ago are still in use. As I mentioned, the Department has already approved a major building project. Plans are in train and the community has been patient. Funding was granted in 2020. Planning was granted in 2023. We now need clarity and certainty. We need a statement on the current stage of the project and a timeline for when construction will begin.

First-year students who heralded the announcement of funding in 2020 are now in their leaving cert year. They will never see the benefit of the new school building, even though they were told at the time that they would. This project is essential for the educational future of mid-Cork. It is an investment in opportunity, in rural development and in ensuring that every young person in our area can learn in a modern, safe and inspiring environment. Across the country, we have seen that investments to deliver new schools can transform communities. We cannot allow Coachford to fall behind. Students, teachers and parents deserve to know when this long-promised new school building will become a reality.

I thank the Minister of State for being here today. I appreciate it is outside of her Department but I am seeking clarity. When will the design and tender stage be completed? When will we see work commence on site? When will the new Coachford College open its doors to students? It is a very positive project and it is to be welcomed. It is one that will serve many generations to come. It has the full support of the local community and of Cork ETB. It is time now to see progress. We have seen funding allocated and we have seen planning granted but we do not see any progress on actual delivery. We need to ensure the young people of Coachford and mid-Cork have the facilities they deserve. Their future and the future of our region depends on it.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I know it is very dear to her heart. It was her own secondary school that she attended. It is very commendable that as a past pupil, she is here in the House and enabled to advocate for and represent her community and her former school. I will take this opportunity to welcome students from St. Joseph's College to the Seanad. I hope they find this debate an interesting one. Their school was in this situation a number of years ago. Thankfully, the Tánaiste opened a brand-new school recently. It takes a very long time, as the staff and students of St. Joseph's College will attest to, but it happens eventually.

This week's Cabinet meeting was moved from yesterday to today to facilitate the presidential inauguration and, for that reason, the Minister for education has asked me to take this matter on her behalf this morning. She has asked me to update the Senator and the House on the current position regarding the planned school building at Coachford Community College in Coachford, County Cork. As the Senator has said, it has been approved as a major devolved project to deliver a new school building for a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pupils. I note she said there are 850 pupils in the school already and that figure is growing. When it is finished, this school will be able to accommodate that growth trajectory. It will also have a four-classroom special education needs base.

The project has been devolved for delivery to Cork ETB, which has appointed a design team to design the accommodation being provided through the various stages of architectural planning. Projects progress from stage to stage in accordance with the project brief and the Department's design guidelines. The project for Coachford Community College is currently at stage 2b. That is the post-planning process. As the Senator said, funding was approved in 2020 and planning was approved in 2023. At this point, the architectural process will allow for the detailed design and planning to obtain the necessary statutory permissions for the preparation of the tender documents. The next stage will be the tender.

At this juncture in the project, it is unfortunately not feasible to give an indicative time for delivery because it has not gone to tender yet. The Department will continue to engage directly with Cork ETB to provide assistance in regard to the project as required.Since 2020, the Department has invested over €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, which initiated in my own Department. It involves the completion of over 1,300 school building projects.

In addition, repurposing and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely and local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. About 80% of new special classes in 2025 and 2026 are being accommodated in repurposed classroom accommodation. In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.5 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period from 2026 to 2030 under the new NDP. As part of that allocation, the Department will place a very strong emphasis on the provision of education for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs.

In relation to the roll-out of large-scale projects, which the school referenced by the Senator is, and additional school accommodation schemes, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible, in the first instance, and then provide necessary additional accommodation through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of next year right up to 2030. It will be prioritised on the basis of urgent need. This school has been in the system a long time. It has its funding and planning. There is a very clear case, which the Senator again put forward and is on the record of the House today. I will absolutely feed that back to the Minister and ask that it be prioritised.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. It is great to see pupils from a school local to her here today to hear that these projects do eventually happen. It is good to know that some progress is being made. However, it is incredibly disappointing that the speed at which it is moving is glacial. As I said, planning was granted two years ago, for November. The funding was awarded five years ago. There was talk about this school for many years prior to that. The delivery of it is incredibly important. The school is a hub in mid-Cork. It is servicing the entire hinterland of Coachford, which is a massive area. It has fantastic staff and students. Their results speak for themselves and they deliver year on year. The importance of this development cannot be overstated. It should be expedited in any way that it can.

Coachford is one of the biggest villages in mid-Cork. A primary school is located very close to the secondary school. In fact, people have to drive past the primary school to get to the secondary school campus and they are across the road from each other. The primary school has been selected for Safe Routes to School. As part of that programme, the delivery of safer walkways and safer footpaths is being delayed because the school is being told that this cannot progress until the secondary school progresses. According to the Minister of State's reply, that is still quite a way off.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for outlining that situation in relation to the primary school and safer routes. That is obviously a big programme the Government is investing in. We want to encourage more children to walk, cycle or be dropped safely at their schools. I am very disappointed to hear that any delays with the secondary school might be having an impact on the primary school. I will raise that directly with the Minister for Education and Youth. Surely, there is a way we can make sure that whatever footpaths will not be disturbed during the construction phase of Coachford, can at least be done now to protect and enable Safer Routes to School for those primary school children. I thank the Senator for raising that.

I fully appreciate her frustration with this. It is 2020 since funding was approved. That is a long time. It is very difficult for parents, students and staff to be caught in this loop where they are still waiting for the next phase. All I can say is I will absolutely raise it with the Minister and ask when the design will be finalised and when it will go to tender. Once it goes to tender, the Senator will have a much clearer indication of what that timeline looks like and will, at that point, be in a better position to be able to keep students, staff and parents informed. I thank her for her ongoing work on this matter. I know it is something that is very dear to her heart as a past pupil. It is something I will pass on to the Minister for education.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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The Minister of State is staying with us for the next Commencement matter. I thank her again for that.