I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 181 together.
The alternative proposals submitted by the parents action committee to accommodate the boys of St. Patricks and St. Fintans national schools in Bandon, County Cork have been examined and costed by my Department. The cost involved in these proposals would be far in excess of the cost of making the former secondary school premises suitable for the pupils of these schools and because of this there is no option but to reject them.
I therefore confirm my Department's intention to use the former convent secondary school as a permanent home for the boys national schools when amalgamated. I have recently written to the patron of the boys' schools in this regard.
The works considered necessary to these premises are mainly connected with improved playground, car parking and bus pull-in facilities and some refurbishment of the classroom accommodation.