Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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75. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that the playing fields at a school (details supplied) will not be sold off by the Christian Brothers congregation, thereby depriving the school of the pitches adjacent to its school building; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24731/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In early May, the Christian Brothers congregation wrote to me on the wider issue of the transfer of ownership of its playing fields to the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, ERST.

That recent correspondence also noted the proposal to dispose of part of the lands at the school to which the Deputy refers, a post-primary school under the patronage of ERST, and it states that contracts have already been signed with a builder. The congregation’s letter states that its intention is to use part of the proceeds of the disposal to meet its outstanding contribution of €8.8 million relating to the voluntary offer it made in 2009 in response to the findings of the Ryan report. The congregation also advised me that it will have provided the college with 6.5 acres, inclusive of the school and lands transferred in 2008 and the 3.5 acres of playing grounds now transferring.

I am not privy to the deliberations or the debates within the congregation on why these particular lands were selected for disposal.

As I noted, the congregation has an outstanding redress contribution of €8.8 million. Completion of this contribution at an early date is vital because it will ensure that Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, will have available to it the full €110 million in cash contributions offered by the religious congregations. I appreciate that the Christian Brothers wish to follow through on their commitments, having already paid €21.2 million of their voluntary cash offer.

It would, however, also be very disappointing if the educational needs of the current and future generations of children were compromised in achieving this goal. I would hope that the congregation takes this fully into account during its deliberations.

There is a role for the school patron, ERST, to ensure that the current and potential future educational needs of the school, including the capacity of the school to meet future enrolment demands, are prioritised.

My Department will be writing to the congregation on the matter of the lands adjacent to the school to which the Deputy refers, seeking clarification on a number of points, including whether the land in question is now the subject of a legally-binding agreement with a builder.