The existing school site to which the Deputy refers is not owned by my Department but by the Cork diocesan authorities as trustees of the school. Consequently, the legal arrangements for the exchange or disposal of the lands in question are a matter for the diocesan authorities in the first instance.
The board of management of the school in question informed my Department last year that the trustees of the school had arranged to provide a new, fully serviced, site by agreement with a local developer in return for the existing school site which, I am informed, is required to provide access to lands owned by the developer.
On 23 November, 2001 my Department received formal notification in writing from the board of management that the developer was prepared, in addition to the land transfer, to construct a temporary school on the site. My Department's approval was sought for this proposal. Less than one week later, on 29 November, 2001, my Department wrote to the board of management conveying formal approval for the proposal. A letter was subsequently received from the board dated 24 January, 2002 indicating that the proposal had been withdrawn by the developer.
I re-iterate that the approval for the land transfer conveyed to the board by my Department on 29 November 2001 still stands. It is a matter for the board, in consultation with the diocesan authorities who are the owners of the land, to act on this approval. No further sanctions are required from my Department to give effect to the transfer and my Department has no further function in the legal arrangements to complete the transfer.
In the meantime, and in order to facilitate the immediate transfer arrangements in advance of a new permanent school being provided, I am prepared to approve grant-aid for temporary accommodation to be constructed on the new site, subject to proper physical access and services to the site being provided by the developer. Meanwhile, architectural planning for a new permanent school is continuing and my Department is currently awaiting the submission of the initial designs from the school's design team. I assure the Deputy that the permanent school project will proceed through the remaining stages of architectural planning and to tender under the Government's expanded building programme as quickly as possible. There will be no delay on my Department's part in giving the relevant approvals.