Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here. I accept that the senior Minister is not here. I did say that we really want to get behind what we have here in responses to written questions. We have detail but what the parents and local school community want are clear indications particularly on timelines. I had indicated that in my response to the Minister. I hope this can be a fruitful engagement.

This really is a question of three issues, as I see it. It is a question of communication, and poor communications from the Department in particular to the local school community. It is a question of delay and the impact of that delay on the school community. In terms of delay, the latest response we have received indicates that this project will go to tender in quarter 4 of 2024. This is frustrating for the school community because there has been delay on that. There were indications last year that the project would go to tender early in 2024, then in mid-2024, then in quarter 3 and now quarter 4 of 2024. As the Minister of State might appreciate, there is concern that this slippage will continue. The school community wants some assurance that it will in fact go to tender in quarter 4. Maybe the Minister of State can provide us with some clarification in that regard.

The impact of that delay is very clear. I will wait to hear from the Minister of State on the cause in terms of the building project itself. In the meantime, we have contingency planning. This school community is being accommodated in the grounds of the local GAA club. There was supposed to be temporary accommodation provided in the meantime to meet the expanding school community for this school year. Incredibly, despite me and others raising this issue and the local school community sitting on this issue and chasing the Department and responsible authorities, the temporary accommodation was not in place for the start of the school year. It means one of the classes has to be accommodated in the GAA hall. In fairness to them, I want to read a letter that some of the third class pupils sent to local representatives. It is appropriate for the Minister of State to hear it as well. It was sent in September and these children are still not accommodated in their temporary accommodation:

We are third class pupils from Dunshaughlin Community National School. We would like to share our concern that we do not have a classroom. As there is a delay on our classroom, we must use the GAA clubhouse as a classroom. This area is a shared space so we cannot leave our belongings in it, we cannot keep our library books, toys or electronics in the space. It is also inconvenient for our families when they are collecting us and our siblings. We would like to request a classroom on Dunshaughlin Community National School ground as soon as possible. We hope you will consider our request and we look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, the pupils of third class, Dunshaughlin Community National School.

That is specifically on the issue of temporary accommodation while planning is progressed for the school building itself. The Minister of State can see the implications of it. I await his initial reply.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Darren O'Rourke for raising the issue of plans and timeline for delivery of a new school building for Dunshaughlin Community National School, Dunshaughlin, County Meath. The school building project for Dunshaughlin Community National School is part of the Department’s construction programme and will be delivered as part of a campus project that will provide a new eight-classroom primary school and accommodation, including two classrooms for children with special educational needs for Dunshaughlin CNS and a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school and accommodation, including four classrooms for children with special educational needs for Coláiste Ríoga.

The project currently has planning permission and is, along with a number of other projects, being brought to the level of employer-led design with a design team assigned to do so under the supervision of the Department’s project manager. The process of appointing the design team from the Department’s frameworks of consultants was completed in September 2023 and the project is currently close to completion of stage 2b of the architectural design process. Stage 2b involves detailed design and the preparation of tender documentation. The next stage, subject to relevant stage 2b approvals, will be stage 3, which is the tender stage.

Planning permission for Dunshaughlin CNS was granted on 4 November 2020. In the event that an extension to the current planning permission is required, the Department's project manager will arrange for the preparation of the necessary documentation for same in due course. The project is currently anticipated to progress to tender in quarter 4 of 2024 subject to relevant stage 2b approvals. Projects are subject to relevant due diligence at each stage in the process, within the context of overall programme and budgetary parameters.

The Department will continue to liaise with the school and patron body in relation to interim accommodation requirements and provide any updates in relation to progress on the school building project. The school is currently located in interim accommodation on the Dunshaughlin GAA site. The Department has provided two additional classrooms to meet the school’s accommodation requirements for the 2024 and 2025 school years.

BCAR documentation is due to be uploaded to the building control management system of the local authority in the coming days. Once BCAR validation has been received, the school can occupy the accommodation.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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There is nothing new in that at all. I finished my last contribution with the children's letter about the temporary accommodation and the delay with that. There is concern with all of the delay in this project.

The bigger problem is that the current situation is not suitable accommodation at all. That is why we need a new school building. I will point to the lack of an indoor hall, shortage of yard space and no real facilities. Certain fundamental aspects of normal school life have been denied to these children because they do not have a school building. It is a new school and they do not have a school building.

What the parents and the whole school community, most importantly the children themselves, need to hear is an indication from the Minister of State in terms of timelines. He said it would be quarter 4 in 2024. That is to get to tender stage, which is stage 3. What can parents expect in terms of progress after that? Is there a firm commitment that the target of quarter 4 2024 will be met for stage 3, that it will move to stage 4, construction, and then to stage 5, which is handover and final accommodation? What are the indicative timelines? Can the Minister of State give confidence to the people who are watching this or will watch it later that those timelines will be met? As I stated, a big feature of this whole project has been commitment and delay, missed targets and missed deadlines. The Minister of State will appreciate that it is hugely frustrating for the whole school community. Can he provide those assurances on quarter 4 2024 and the stages that come after it? How long will it take? When will these children be in their new school building?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. Since 2020, the Department has invested more than €5 billion in our schools throughout the country involving the completion of more than 950 school building projects and with construction currently under way at approximately 350 other projects, which includes 37 new school buildings. These 350 projects currently in construction involve a total State investment of more than €1.5 billion. The Department announced earlier this year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the Department's large-scale capital programme and additional accommodation scheme for essential classroom accommodation. This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, will significantly increase provision for special education and will upgrade and modernise school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country. I can assure the Deputy that the Dunshaughlin school campus project is a continuing priority for the Department. The Department will continue to liaise with the school and patron body with regard to the interim accommodation requirements and will provide any updates with regard to the progress of the school project as is necessary.