David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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236. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the research and analysis undertaken by his Department's site acquisition and property management section that led to the decision to make a formal offer of €23,000,000 for Harold's Cross greyhound stadium for the purposes of permanent school provision on the site; if this research and analysis involved a survey of the south Dublin city land banks identified by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government; the reasons for the rejection of those sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24497/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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237. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will arrange to release the 2016 report by his Department's professional and technical staff relating to the suitability or otherwise of Harold's Cross stadium for school development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24498/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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238. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for his Department's professional and technical staff's interest in Harold's Cross stadium in early 2016 in view of the fact that Harold's Cross stadium was not for sale in early 2016 and was one of the most profitable greyhound stadiums in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24500/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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239. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the other options available to meet the needs of his Department in terms of school development as identified by his Department's professional and technical staff in its early 2016 analysis of the Harold's Cross stadium site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24501/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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240. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which he was made aware that the Irish Greyhound Board was proposing to put Harold's Cross stadium on the open market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24502/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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241. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the geographical information system analysis of pressure for school places for areas (details supplied); the analysis that led to the decision by his Department to offer €23,000,000 for Harold's Cross stadium on the basis of the results of the geographical information system analysis of pressure for school places for the areas as listed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24503/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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246. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the discussions that have taken place between his Department's officials and officials from Dublin City Council regarding the zoning of the Harold's Cross stadium site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24507/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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247. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when his Department expects to receive draft contracts regarding the offer of €23,000,000 for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24508/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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250. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if all necessary funding and approvals are in place, as required by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circular 17/2016 policy for property acquisition and for disposal of surplus property, for his Department's offer of €23 million for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24544/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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251. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the business case made for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24546/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the options examined with regard to the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium included no change and its impact, freeing up existing space, space modification, site purchase and build, purchase or lease of an existing building or different locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24547/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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253. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of demolishing Harold's Cross stadium; the estimated cost of developing the land for permanent school provision, as identified in the business case developed for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24545/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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254. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will quantify the costs of viable options and specify sources of funding, as required by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circular 17/2016 policy for property acquisition and for disposal of surplus property, as identified in the business case developed for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24548/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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255. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the analysis of main options identified and outlined in the business case that was developed for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24549/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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268. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the risks identified with each viable option with regard to the business case that was developed for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24643/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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269. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the viable options identified through the development of a business case for the €23 million offer for Harold's Cross stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24644/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to takes Questions Nos. 236 to 241, inclusive, 246, 247, 250 to 255, inclusive, 268 and 269 together.

Concerted efforts to acquire sites in the south Dublin City area for schools have been ongoing in my Department in the context of existing and expected requirements at both primary and post-primary level since 2012. Previous searches for additional prospective school sites in this area in co-operation with Chief Valuer’s Office and Dublin City Council focused on sites which were on the market, potential sites within Dublin City Council’s portfolio and also substantial land holdings of other bodies within the area. It was noted that there was a very limited number of potential sites with the South Dublin City area. My Department also consulted with NAMA in relation to any potential site options available.

It was in the context of such limited school site availability in south Dublin City that officials in my Department approached the Irish Greyhound Board in February 2016 with a view to considering the feasibility of providing school accommodation on the Harold’s Cross site. Subsequently, in July 2016, in the course of my Department’s engagement with the Irish Greyhound Board regarding the Harold’s Cross site, it was made clear to my officials that while Savills real estate agency had been retained by the Board to advise on the asset in question, they were not actively seeking to sell it at that time.

Nonetheless, in the context of ongoing school site requirements, a detailed site analysis and feasibility study of the Harold’s Cross site was carried out in order to assess the potential of the site. This technical assessment of the property concluded that the property is suitable for the provision of a significant level of school accommodation.

Having considered the uncertainty in relation to timeframe for acquisition and zoning, it was decided that the potential acquisition of the Harold’s Cross stadium would not be pursued at that time. However, while the site was not available at that time, the suitability of the site had been established relative to other options identified as part of an overall site search in the area. My Department was not aware of, and did not discuss with IGB, timeframes for closure of the stadium.

My Department became aware of the decision to close the Harold’s Cross property in February of this year, when the Irish Greyhound Board made its announcement to that effect. My Department was not aware, in advance of that time, that a decision had been taken to close the greyhound stadium. My Department was contacted subsequently by Savills to indicate that the Harold’s Cross site would be on the market and the Department could be given access to value it if required. Contact was also made by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, since my Department had previously made that Department aware of potential interest in the site.

On foot of the information that the Harold’s Cross site was about to go on the open market, officials in the Site Acquisition section of my Department consulted with the Forward Planning section in relation to proposed future growth and school needs in the area. The Forward Planning section of my Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. The GIS uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post-primary level to determine where additional school accommodation is needed.

Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium is situated in the Department’s school planning area of Dublin 6/Clonskeagh and is immediately adjacent to the school planning areas of Dolphin’s Barn/Dublin 12; Dublin 8; Dublin 2 /Dublin 4; and Dublin 6W. An initial review of demographics in relevant school planning areas adjacent to the site indicate significant increases at both primary and post-primary levels likely to require provision for additional school sites in the area, beyond those currently in the ownership of the Department. Initial projections indicate additional demand of up to 5,000 places at post-primary level across the Dublin 6/Clonskeagh school planning area (in which the property is located) and the adjoining school planning areas in the South Dublin City area.

In the context of the previous analysis of options to provide the expected school places required, my Department is acutely aware that existing schools in the area do not have the capacity to provide the accommodation that will be necessary for such a huge increase in student numbers. Furthermore, a diversity of provision is also required to allow for parental choice. Accommodation to meet the demand for additional school places anticipated in the south Dublin City school planning areas would, therefore, require multiple sites or property, each of significant capacity, in an area where land availability is known to be very limited.

The announced sale of this property by the IGB represented an invaluable opportunity for my Department to acquire a site which was known to be suitable for school provision in the context of extremely limited alternative accommodation solutions. The decision taken by my Department to acquire the Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium was, therefore, taken in the context of the requirements identified in the demographic analysis and of the impending disposal of the property on the open market.

In order to advance the proposed acquisition my Department specifically requested of the IGB that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 11/15: Protocols for the Transfer and Sharing of State Property Assets be followed. These protocols provide for the Valuation Office to furnish a binding estimate of value in accordance with international standards issued by the International Valuation Standards Council. The report compiled by the Valuations Office indicated that the property had a value of €23 million. This report took into account, inter alia, zoning and the requirement to clear the site of existing structures.

The Deputy will appreciate that the current trend in land values has been that land prices are increasing. Given that this asset was about to go on the open market, my Department assessed the potential of acquiring this site relative to the potential of acquiring alternative sites. From a school’s perspective this site is ideally located to serve South Dublin City needs and it provides certainty in respect of suitability and availability. It had already been established that land-banks of sufficient size are scarce and where such sites have the potential for residential or commercial development, they would be valued accordingly. The proposed acquisition costs were appraised in this context.

While the current zoning of the site does not permit the development of a school on the site, it could be facilitated by means of a variation to the City Development Plan. Department officials have discussed the zoning of the property with Dublin City Council officials and have agreed with the Irish Greyhound Board that the proposed acquisition would be subject to the necessary change in zoning for the property.

The proposed acquisition is, in the first instance, subject to the consent of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Draft contracts have not yet been received but my Department has been informed that these are being prepared. By agreement with the Irish Greyhound Board, the contracts will reflect phasing of the payment of the purchase price in respect of the proposed acquisition with a view to spreading the cost to my Department across two years’ financial allocation. This cost will be met within the Department’s overall capital budget as sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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242. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the processes and procedures that are undertaken by the principal officer in his Department's site acquisition and property management section in terms of identifying and acquiring sites for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24504/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the site acquisitions by his Department in each of the years 2006 to 2016 inclusive; the amount paid by his Department for each of those sites; the previous use and type of rezoning associated with the sites at the time of purchase; the current use of each of those sites, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24505/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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244. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the processes and procedures undertaken by the assistant secretary of the school planning and building unit with regard to the approval of a site acquisition decision made by the principal officer of his Department's acquisition and property management section; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24499/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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245. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the annual allocation provided to his Department's site acquisition and property management section for site acquisition in each of the years 2006 to 2016 inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24506/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 242 to 245, inclusive, together.

Where additional demographic demands exist, in determining the requirement for a new school site an assessment of possible accommodation provision by means of extension of existing schools is carried out. In circumstances where the additional accommodation needs cannot be met by extension of existing schools so that a new school is needed, a site acquisition process is commenced.

In general, the site acquisition process commences with the identification of potential site options and the assessment of each site’s suitability. Every effort is made to identify site options in the ownership of a public sector body in the first instance, by means of consulting the State Property Register and engaging with the relevant officials in other State Bodies.

Officials in the relevant Local Authority are directly involved in the site acquisition process under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites which was agreed with the County and City Managers’ Association in 2012. Such engagement by the Local Authority assists with ensuring the suitability of selected sites and addressing any potential planning risks.

Where multiple site options for the provision of the required school accommodation are available, the acquisition of the option deemed most suitable, having regard to technical factors, relative costs, timelines for acquisition and other considerations is pursued in the first instance.

It has occurred on occasion that the only available or viable site for a school is not suitably zoned. In such instances, my Department’s policy is to work with the local authority with a view to facilitating arrangements to provide for school development on the site. Engagement with Local Authorities by my Department in respect of school development on such sites has yielded positive results.

Decisions with respect to site acquisitions are taken by the Principal Officer of the Site Acquisitions and Property Management section of my Department having considered the school accommodation requirements and available site options. Consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the Planning and Building Unit may take place with respect to high-value acquisitions in the context of the impact on the Department’s overall capital budget.

Tables showing the site acquisitions by my Department and the capital allocation for years from 2006 to 2016 are being compiled and this information will be forwarded to the Deputy shortly.