Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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418. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of a permanent building for a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23610/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The permanent school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department's Design and Build programme. A pre-planning meeting was held with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council earlier in the year and this is informing the design for the project. Lodgement of the Planning Application will be the next key milestone in the progression of the project. To this end, the final pre-planning meeting is due to be held with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on the 23rd September next. My Department's Project Manager for the Design and Build programme is working towards submission of the planning application as soon as possible. Until such time as planning permission has been secured, it will not be possible to provide a timeline for progression of the project to tender and construction stages.

Regarding the school’s interim accommodation, my Department has approved the provision of funding, under the Additional Accommodation Scheme, to provide for prefabricated accommodation for the school to meet its short to medium term accommodation needs at its current location. Some issues during the tendering process led to delays in the delivery of this project to the extent that it was not going to be completed in time to allow the school to open there for September.

The school authority worked closely with officials in my Department with a view to providing interim solutions to meet the needs of the school pending completion of this project. In that context, it was agreed that an existing ETB building would be refurbished with a view to facilitating its use for that purpose. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that this work was completed last week and the building is now in use by the school.