Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

556. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 198 of 30 May 2017, the estimated timeframe for the process for the school building; and when he expects that teaching will begin on this site. [28060/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Where a requirement for additional schools has been identified, details including proposed timelines related to the opening of the schools, are made known by a Ministerial announcement following which a patronage assessment process is carried out to determine who will operate such schools.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Irish Greyhound Board has accepted an offer of €23m made by my Department for the acquisition of the Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium property. The acquisition is subject to contract and a change in the zoning for the property in order to facilitate school development.

The offer to acquire this site was made in the context of the future need for school places in the area which will exceed current supply. Suitable potential school sites in the area are limited, and this site is ideally located given its relatively central location.

My Department's professional and technical staff have conducted a feasibility study of the Harold’s Cross site and this technical assessment concluded that the property is suitable for the provision of a significant level of school accommodation.

Officials from my Department have engaged in preliminary discussions with officials in Dublin City Council with respect to the potential development of the property. The development of school infrastructure on the site is contingent upon a change to the current zoning.  Subject to the required change to zoning, my Department will work closely with the Council officials to meet planning requirements.

As the Deputy will appreciate, timeframes for the process for a school building, which include planning and zoning considerations, vary considerably and it is not possible at this point to provide a timeframe for teaching to begin on the site due to a number of factors some of which are outside the control of my Department.