Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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25. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when his Department will make a decision on the permanent location of a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28041/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

The school to which the Deputy refers opened in temporary accommodation in September 2016.

My Department has been seeking to acquire a suitable permanent site in the area for the school in question for some time and has been in liaison with officials in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in this respect.

As the Deputy will appreciate, land availability in the area is extremely limited and this has resulted in a challenging and lengthy site acquisition process.  Nonetheless, a suitable location has been identified and the acquisition process in respect of this has commenced.  Officials in my Department are considering and addressing certain technical complications pertaining to the site in question.  My officials are currently evaluating the best course of action in order to expedite the provision of permanent accommodation for this school.

Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. I can, however, assure you that the provision of a new site for the school is a priority for the Department and that the patron body will be informed of the location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so.