Vol. 441 No. 8
141 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of the teaching staff in relation to the proposed site for the community school at Ballyshannon, County Donegal; the schedule of accommodation and the time scale for the commencement of the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware of the concerns expressed by the teaching staff to the proposed site for the community school at Ballyshannon.
The position is that where a community school development is in question it is the responsibility of my Department to identify and acquire a suitable site for the purpose. The architectural and other technical expertise available in my Department is fully involved in this process. This has been done in the case of Ballyshannon and my Department is satisfied that the proposed site is more than adequate to facilitate the development of the community school.
A detailed schedule of accommodation to be provided is currently being finalised in my Department and will be issued shortly to the respective school authorities involved in the amalgamation.
A design team has been appointed and initial architectural planning has been initiated. It is intended to bring the project to tender stage as soon as possible. It is not possible at this stage to give a definitive date for the commencement of construction.
In line with my commitments to keep concerned interests informed, I recently announced a list of projects which are in my Department's priority projects in architectural planning and I am glad to state that the project to provide a single community school in Ballyshannon is included on that list.
