Pelletstown school delay
Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked about laws to prevent housing developments being built without schools and raised the delayed Pelletstown Educate Together school. The Taoiseach said he was working with the Minister for Education on a solution to keep the school on site until the new building is ready, and later said the delay was due to negotiations.
A problem constantly arises when houses and apartments are thrown up and people must chase after schools many years later. Is the Government considering any laws to prevent a recurrence of this problem? The Taoiseach is familiar with Pelletstown Educate Together national school in the Ashtown-Rathborne area, which is awaiting a new school but has now been told that it will be delayed. The temporary premises on which the school is currently located are owned by a developer, and the lease is up in June 2020. It has already been extended and the school has been told by the developer that there will be no further extensions to the lease. Will the school community be evicted from this location? What is the status of the permanent site and what is going on with the Department and the developer? A public meeting will be held next Wednesday, 13 November. I have been trying to get an answer from the Minister for Education and Skills about this for two weeks, but I have not heard back from him. It seems developers are again being prioritised over the needs of ordinary people.
Comment on this
I am working on this issue with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh. We are hopeful of coming to a resolution as soon as possible. The new school will be built but has been delayed by roughly a year for various reasons. We want to make sure the school can stay on its current site until the new school is ready. We do not want the children attending the school to be shipped or bused elsewhere for a year. We are seeking to avoid that scenario. The Minister and I are working on it, but we are limited in what we can say as third parties are involved. Once we have a solution, we will inform the parents, as well as Deputy Coppinger.
Comment on this
What is the reason for the delay?