Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2016
331. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills to support and expedite the provision of a physical education hall in a school (details supplied) which has been without same for over 30 years on a standalone basis, without linking the decision with a primary school on the same campus. [13432/16]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware of the planning difficulties associated with this educational campus, related largely to the means of access to the site. Planning permission has been sought and refused for both a new primary school and a physical education hall for the existing post-primary school.
An Bord Pleanála has indicated that the matter of assessing alternative means of accessing these lands would benefit from a co-ordinated approach by my Department and the planning authority. Pre-planning discussions have already taken place in this regard with a view to progressing a further planning application as soon as possible for both the new primary school and the physical education hall. The optimal outcome is a comprehensive and balanced solution to ongoing access issues for this educational campus as a whole and my Department is focusing on achieving this outcome rather than progressing individual elements of the overall infrastructural requirements on the site for which the same access issues would arise.
