Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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200. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the delays experienced in commencing the construction of the permanent buildings of a school (details supplied) and the fact that the 2018 first class needs to be accommodated off campus at a site in Broombridge; if his attention has been further drawn to the concerns parents have regarding the part of the school to be relocated off site and their fears that the school will not remain on the existing campus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31110/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been liaising with the patron body of the school referred to by the Deputy with regard to additional accommodation required for September 2017.

As the Deputy may be aware, this is a developing school located in rented temporary accommodation in Rathborne, Dublin 15 which will require two additional classrooms for September 2017. Work is ongoing to provide additional prefab accommodation at this location as soon as possible.

In the interim, a number of options were explored with the patron body of the school. Following a Board of Management meeting in May, 2017 the preferred option of the school, supported by the patron body, was to temporarily accommodate two of the classes in the nearby Broombridge Educate Together NS, Bannow Road, Dublin 7 (which is in my ownership) as a short-term arrangement only, pending delivery of the additional prefab accommodation.  Broombridge Educate Together NS is a new 16-classroom school which opened in its permanent accommodation only last year with most of its purpose-built rooms available for use.

Once the prefabs are installed, the classes temporarily located in Broombridge ETNS will move back to the existing rented accommodation in Rathborne, Dublin 15.

I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the current site of the school in Rathborne, Dublin 15 is a temporary site. A suitable permanent site for the school's permanent accommodation has been identified and discussions are ongoing with the landowner with a view to acquiring this site.  Following this, the project for the new school building can progress into architectural planning.