Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2017
219. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to build a permanent school for a national school (details supplied); if this development will be fast tracked; the interim facilities that will be put in place until the new build is completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32312/17]
View answer231. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that first class pupils in a school (details supplied) will from this September 2017 be forced to be bused to another school (details supplied) in order to have a classroom and that due to this, they will lose up to 30 minutes of the school day; if instead of this, temporary accommodation could be provided on site at the school; the status of obtaining a permanent site and building for the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32738/17]
View answer235. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date that the planning application will be submitted for two prefabs at the temporary location of a school (details supplied) to accommodate the school's first class pupils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32824/17]
View answer241. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expedite the provision of a site, buildings and resources for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32957/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 219, 231, 235 and 241 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been liaising with the patron body of the school referred to by the Deputy with regard to additional accommodation required for September 2017.
As the Deputy may be aware, this is a developing school located in rented temporary accommodation in Rathborne, Dublin 15 which will require two additional classrooms for September 2017. Work is ongoing to provide additional prefab accommodation at this location as soon as possible and it is expected that an application for planning permission will be submitted this week.
In the interim, a number of options were explored with the patron body of the school. Following a Board of Management meeting in May, 2017 the preferred option of the school, supported by the patron body, was to temporarily accommodate two of the classes in the nearby Broombridge Educate Together NS, Bannow Road, Dublin 7 (which is in my ownership) as a short-term arrangement, pending delivery of the additional prefab accommodation. Broombridge Educate Together NS is a new 16-classroom school which opened in its permanent accommodation only last year with most of its purpose-built rooms available for use.
Where it may be more convenient, parents may wish to drop their children directly to the Broombridge Educate Together NS property which is located some 3km from the Rathborne site. Arrangements are also being made to provide bus transport from the current Rathborne location up to Broombridge Educate Together NS pending delivery of the temporary prefab accommodation on the Rathborne site. Once the prefabs are installed, the classes temporarily located in Broombridge ETNS will move back to the existing rented accommodation in Rathborne, Dublin 15.
The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme. The current site of the school in Rathborne, Dublin 15 is a temporary site. A suitable permanent site for the school's permanent accommodation has been identified and discussions are ongoing with the landowner with a view to acquiring this site. Following this, the project for the new school building can progress into architectural planning.
