asked the Minister for Education if he will state, in relation to the proposed new Rathdown primary school in Sandyford, County Dublin, the progress that has been made on the building of the school and when it will be open.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sandyford (Dublin) School.
17.
Sketch plans have been prepared for the proposed new school at Rathdown and are being examined by the Department at present. I am not in a position to say when the school will open, but there will be no avoidable delay in attending to the preliminary arrangements for building.
Is the Minister aware that there is considerable local concern about this issue among teachers and parents, given that apparently this was regarded quite some time ago as an urgent matter? Will the Minister do something to reassure parents that the school will be reopened and give a date for the opening?
I appreciate the Deputy's concern and his gratitude to me regarding the post-primary school in the area. It has been agreed that a 24-room school will be built. It is proposed to provide 16 classrooms initially and an extension containing eight further classrooms when it is required. The final sketchplans submitted to the Office of Public Works by the architects for the management have been found satisfactory from the architectural point of view, subject to certain amendments. The report of the Office of Public Works is dated 16 January. The suitability from an educational point of view is being examined within the Department. If the Deputy reflects on this fact he will know that a considerable degree of urgency is being exercised in the matter within my Department.