I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Joe McHugh.

I too welcome the Minister. I wish to talk again about St. Joseph's secondary school in Rush. The Minister will recall that on 6 November last I had a Commencement matter on the urgent need to provide temporary accommodation and that he announced on that day that the application had been approved. We spoke then about the need for a permanent new school building. I wish to remind him that St Joseph's is a secondary school with 1,000 pupils and that it is the only secondary school in the town of Rush. Rush and all of the towns in north county Dublin are expanding rapidly. It is the fastest growing part of the country with the youngest population. Obviously, there is a very strong demand there for primary and post-primary school places.

The capacity issue needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. At the time the Minister approved four prefabricated buildings because there was a crisis. There are 102 students on the waiting list for places in September 2019 who could not be offered places. Thankfully, that issue has been resolved. I mentioned at the time that there was no extra capacity to expand in the school.

Enrolments in the primary schools in the town of Rush had indicated a similar demand for places next year and into the future. At that time, the Minister said he was actively pursuing a site for the school. St. Joseph's secondary school has an excellent reputation in Rush and beyond. Its principal, Ms Patricia Hayden, and the teaching staff in the school do an excellent job. It is a DEIS school and linked into the Trinity access programme. There is 100% progression to third level and apprenticeships from the school, which the Minister will agree is exceptional. This year, the school had six entries in the BT Young Scientist exhibition. As there was only one other school in the country with a higher number of entries, that is an exceptional record, particularly when one considers that the school does not have sufficient science laboratories. All credit must go to the principal, the teaching staff and all the other staff in the school and, of course, the commitment of the parents to the school.

The young people of Rush want to be educated in this school. They demand to be educated in it, but capacity makes that very difficult. It is worth noting that secondary schools in the neighbouring towns of Lusk and Skerries are also experiencing capacity issues. As such, they will not be able to accept any overflow of students from Rush. On 6 November last the Minister said a site was being acquired. However, when my colleague, Councillor Brian Dennehy, a Fingal county councillor who lives in Rush and whose children attend St. Joseph's secondary school, tabled a motion on the matter to Fingal County Council on 8 November, he was told by a senior official of the council that there was no instruction from the Department of Education and Skills to acquire a site. As I understand it, that remains the position. We were all dismayed with the response received to Councillor Dennehy's motion because we had been led to believe this announcement was imminent. There has been land zoned in the town for the school for ten years. Following on from the work of Councillor Brian Dennehy in Rush, upgrading works on the Park Road are due to commence imminently, which will allow for access to that site. When will the Minister issue a request to Fingal County Council to acquire this site and when will construction of the new school commence?

I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it allows me the opportunity to clarify the position on St. Joseph’s secondary school, Rush, County Dublin. I acknowledge that my colleague, Senator James Reilly, has kept me up to speed on this issue. The school is currently located at Convent Lane, Rush and consists of a number of buildings, some permanent accommodation and others prefabricated accommodation. The site is limited for development due to its size and location in the centre of the village in a settled residential area and it was determined that a new site was required to facilitate provision of sufficient permanent accommodation for the school.

The school’s trustees have recently confirmed to my Department that they are not in a position to provide a site to accommodate a new school building. Following on from this, officials of my Department have requested the assistance of officials in Fingal County Council in procuring a site for the school under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites. Under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites, local authorities assist my Department with the process of identifying and acquiring sites for the development of school accommodation. The first step in this process is the identification of suitable sites by the local authorities. The identified sites are then technically assessed on a joint basis by officials from the local authorities and my Department's professional and technical staff.

The Senator will appreciate the importance of a thorough appraisal of site options at this point to ensure the achievement of value for money and minimise the potential of any issue arising during the planning and development stages. The relevant local area plan provides for the location of a post-primary school site in the Kenure area of Rush. My Department understands this site was reserved by Fingal County Council on foot of representations made on behalf of St. Joseph’s secondary school. To date, access issues have inhibited the potential development of this site but Fingal County Council is working to deliver a new roadway which would facilitate such development. Engagement between my officials and council officials on the potential acquisition of the site is ongoing. It is difficult to indicate a timeline for completion of the acquisition of a site for the school in question as it is dependent on the outcome of current negotiations and also on the complexity of the conveyancing process.

Once a site has been acquired the project can progress to architectural planning.

I assure the Senator that my Department is cognisant of the school's current accommodation constraints. The Department received an application for temporary accommodation from the school. Subsequently, it issued approval, in principle, to the board of management for the rental of two science laboratories - one being a technical graphics or design communication graphics room and one general classroom - as an interim measure, pending delivery of the permanent school building. The responsibility for the installation of this accommodation has been devolved to the school authority for delivery.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir faoi choinne an seans labhartha leis an Seanad inniu ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo.

I am sorry, but it is unsatisfactory to say the engagement is ongoing. We had been led to believe acquisition was imminent. Fingal County Council requires a direction from the Minister and his Department to acquire the site. As the site has been zoned for ten years, it has been sitting there. The access issues have been resolved. The upgrade of the park road is imminent and should be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year. There is no reason the Minister cannot issue the instruction to acquire the site. It is not good enough for him to come here and say engagement is "ongoing" and claim there are complex conveyancing reasons. This is completely unacceptable. We have been led to believe by plenty of local representatives that this project is a done deal, that there will be a new school and that the devil and all will be done. It is clear from the Minister's reply that the acquisition is not imminent. It is an absolute disgrace that children in Rush are on this site without a playing pitch, a library and with inadequate science and woodwork rooms. There is simply a capacity issue. Next year there will not be any room. There is no room for any further prefab on this site. There will be great anger in Rush when people realise the Minister is not even on the verge of issuing the instruction to acquire the site.

For the purposes of clarification, it is important for me to point out what my role is, as Minister, in site acquisitions. I do not issue instructions to buy a preferred site. There is a memorandum of understanding, which is an engagement between the local authority - not just Fingal County Council but all local authorities - and the Department of Education and Skills. As part of that process, there is a communication between departmental officials and Fingal County Council to ensure a number of preferred sites are put on the table. It is up to them to ensure the communication is open and transparent. The Senator has stated a county councillor said that there is no engagement ongoing between officials-----

A senior official from Fingal County Council called Coilín O'Reilly-----

I am not going to allow this.

-----in a response to a motion tabled by Councillor Brian Dennehy-----

I have been very fair to the Senator.

Let us clarify that.

Yes.

Let us find out who is not telling who the right information.

Yes.

As far as I am concerned, my officials are engaging. That process has started. Now we have to-----

Ultimately, the Minister issues the instruction to buy the site.

Will the Senator, please, allow the Minister to conclude?

Now we have to ensure we prioritise the younger people who are looking for a satisfactory building for their education. That is my priority.

The Senator has raised an issue and claimed that there is a blockage in communications. Let us get to the bottom of the matter. Let us find out and continue the work that we do on a bipartisan and cross-political basis. In my engagement, whether it be with the Senator or Senator Reilly, I am happy to find out what the problem is. Let us find out what it is and get to the bottom of it. Importantly, I do not decide-----

Please-----

As we are three minutes over time, please let the Minister conclude. If Senators are not happy - I cannot allow Senator Reilly in - this matter can be revisited again. Three other Members are waiting for-----

I am happy to come back to the Senator with any information.

The purchase of the site is not imminent.

It is.

The purchase of the site is not imminent.

Please, Senator.

That is not correct.

The Minister clarified it.

That is not correct.

The Minister has clarified that the acquisition is not imminent.

Never the twain might meet. I thank the Minister. We will move on to the next matter.

Senator Clifford-Lee's information is out of date. I was in contact with Fingal County Council earlier and it confirmed that it was liaising with the Department to acquire a site.

I cannot allow the Senator in.

It is important that that information be recorded in the House.

I do not want any argy-bargy involving two Senators who live in the same constituency. I am trying to be fair to everybody and there are other matters to be dealt with. I am sure this matter will be revisited, perhaps when I am gone.