Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the provision of a permanent site for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49685/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The site to which the Deputy refers will provide for a campus development of the 1,000 pupil post-primary school and accommodation, including four classrooms, for children with special educational needs for the school referred to by the Deputy and a new 16 classroom primary school and accommodation, including two classrooms, for children with special educational needs.

The acquisition of the site was completed by my Department in June 2019. The zoning on the site reserves 60% of the site for "open space” – that is, it cannot be built upon. The overall site is circa 10 acres. My Department made a submission to the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Draft Development Plan 2022-28 in April 2021 seeking to have the zoning on the school site changed from Objective F Open Space to Objective SNI purposes (Sustainable Neighbourhood Infrastructure) ‘to protect, improve and encourage the provision of sustainable neighbourhood infrastructure’ which would have effectively removed the 60% open space requirement. However this submission was unsuccessful.

The campus project has been assigned to my Department’s Design & Build delivery programme which uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction. There have been a number of pre-planning consultations to date with the Local Authority with regard to the permanent accommodation which will inform the development of the planning application documentation.

Separately, my Department submitted a planning application for interim accommodation for the school referred to by the Deputy on the permanent school site. When planning permission for the interim accommodation has been secured, my Department will update the school in relation to the programme for delivery of the interim accommodation in conjunction with progressing the planning application for the permanent school accommodation.