Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Feb 1995

Vol. 448 No. 8

Adjournment Debate. - Blanchardstown (Dublin) Land Disposal.

Mr. Sargent

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire as ucht teacht isteach chun an t-ábhar an-tábh-achtach seo a phlé. Is ceist an-conspó-ideach í an cheist a ardóidh me.

The Minister and I were teachers in our previous careers and we understand the depth of feeling that exists in the Blanchardstown area over the threat to the Beech Park pitches which have been used for decades by the local community for sport and other recreations. The depth of feeling among the 70,000 or so people in that area of Dublin 15, and the hinterland, cannot be underesti-mated. I am sure the Minister has been made aware of the huge crowd that even the gymnasium in St. Brigid's GAA Club was unable to accommodate. The Minister's colleagues in Government will have told her how the Government would stand in the area if the Beech Park pitches were to be lost.

It is important to realise that it is not just a GAA issue even though the meeting was held in the clubhouse, 25 juvenile teams and six under 12 camogie teams depend on that land. No doubt seven schools will contact the Minister in their own right seeking compensatory land as many of them have to tell their pupils not to run in the playground because of limited space. This area is a vital lung for them, and for the activities of the 350 primary teachers who I am told depend on it. Scoil Thomáis, Scoil Francis Xavier, St. Patrick's national school, Scoil Oilibhéir, Scoil Bhríde, St. Brigid's national school and Coolmine community school are all very upset at the prospect of losing this precious small area particularly as the substantial green space that used to be available has been reduced to this small area.

Will the Minister meet the action group? Bearing in mind that St. Per-egrine's GAA Club has a very satisfactory arrangement for leasing land from the Department in Blakestown will she consider a similar system for the continuation of leasing at Beech Park? If you take an average of 30 pupils in each of the 350 teachers' classes that makes a total of 10,500 children who have a great deal to lose from the Minister's short term gain. Given the budgetary situation, the money could be made up through better use of public moneys rather than depriving many school children of this valuable land.

Minister for Education (Ms Bhreathnach)

I am grateful to the Deputy for giving me this opportunity to clarify once and for all the position concerning the decision to dispose of my Department's land at Beech Park Avenue, Castleknock, Dublin 15.

Obviously because of the numerous representations received in my Department, I am now extremely aware of the anxieties expressed by the residents of the Castleknock area concerning the loss of the use of this land and I assure the Deputy that this matter was examined thoroughly before I made the decision to dispose of this site. However, I must make it crystal clear that this site at Beech Park Avenue was never intended to remain an open space. In 1985 a short term letting on a yearly basis was agreed to facilitate the GAA club while the Department was deciding how best to utilise the site.

To explain the circumstances which gave rise to this contentious issue perhaps it would be helpful if I outlined the background to this case.

The residents of Castleknock have been pressing vigorously for many years for the provision of a second level school for the area and the matter has been under examination in my Department since 1975. In 1983 the Department purchased agricultural land at Beech Park Avenue at a cost of £469,535 and architectural planning for a second level school commenced.

In 1987, following a review of the needs of the area, the then Minister for Education decided in the light of capital resources then available, to defer the provision of a new school on the basis that adequate pupil spaces existed in schools in adjacent areas. A further review by consultants in 1993, recommended in the light of continuing housing development in the area and the difficulties some pupils were experiencing in obtaining school places, that the existing school site located at Beech Park Avenue was inadequate and in an unsatisfactory location, that a new site should be acquired in the Diswellstown area and that the construction of a post-primary school should commence at the earliest opportunity.

I decided in January 1994 to proceed as recommended by the consultants and that the new school would be a community colleage under the aegis of County Dublin Vocational Education Committee which identified a site in Diswellstown at a cost of £1.5 million and I authorised the vocational education committee to purchase this site immediately. To meet the cost of this expensive site, the Beech Park site was offered in exchange plus a balancing payment to make up the total amount of £1.5 million.

I regret the upset caused to the residents of the area and the GAA club by the sale of this land. However, the arrangement with the GAA club was always intended to be temporary pending the construction of the proposed school. This was made absolutely and emphatically clear to the GAA club in 1988 when it sought a ten year lease for the site.

The zoning proposed for the lands in question and eventually adopted in the 1993 Development Plan was "to protect and/or improve residential amenity". In addition a specific objective was indicated on these lands "to provide for a post-primary school or other institution".

I fully comprehend the anger expressed by the people who have been using this site for recreational purposes. However, I know the Deputy will appreciate that Exchequer funds allocated for the construction of school buildings were used to purchase this property and I am obliged to recoup the full market value. Therefore, the course of action I pursued is fully justified. I would also like to point out that, if the school had proceeded as originally planned the GAA club would still have lost the use of this playing field. I am sure you now realise that this is neither a short term nor a short-sighted decision as the sale of this site will contribute indirectly to the provision of an urgently needed second level college for the Castleknock area.

Finally Deputy, there are other mechanisms which have been established to provide open spaces. Having considered all the factors I am satisfied that the decision I took was the correct one and in the best interests of all the taxpayers, including the residents of the Castleknock area, who will benefit enormously from the provision of a second level school.