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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Scoil Padre Pio school project

Summary

Deputy O'Flynn described poor accommodation and high heating and maintenance costs at Scoil Padre Pio in Cork and urged a ministerial visit. The Tánaiste agreed to visit and said he would raise the school building project with the Minister.

Scoil Padre Pio in Churchfield, Cork, is a DEIS plus school catering for five special needs classes. They are operating in prefabs installed in 2005. The prefabs are now costing the State roughly €110,000 per year to maintain. Additionally, despite the energy grants, it is costing the school about €34,000 per year to heat those prefabs with storage heaters. The school has been stuck at stage 2 for the last three years. It has not been accepted onto the list for 2026-27. I invite the Tánaiste, along with the Minister, to visit the school. It is an absolutely fantastic school. It is a treasure. People from all over the city try to get access to the school because of the tremendous work it does with children with special needs. I ask the Tánaiste to come down on his next visit to Cork, perhaps with the Minister, to visit the school. Let us get the school moving along the line. Let us get the planning permission granted and over the line to the next stage so we can build this. When this was first announced, it was a €2 million project. We are now looking at a €7 million project and I am fearful that, if we let it go on, it will hit €10 million.

Comment on this
Simon Harris The Tánaiste Fine Gael

I would be happy to visit Scoil Padre Pio. If the Deputy wants to liaise with me, I will make arrangements to do that in due course in the new school year. I thank the school, based on what the Deputy has told me, for the leadership role it is playing in the provision of special education. I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, about the school building project.

What I would say all Members of this House, including Deputy O'Flynn, is that while we have announced a significant increase in capital funding for schools, it is not the final word on the matter. There will be a requirement for additional capital funding for school projects. There are quite a number at stage 2b. The Government has additional capital to allocate as part of our medium-term fiscal plan and we will work our way through that in the time ahead. I am happy to engage and I will ask the Minister to look specifically into the building project.

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