2026-06-09

Táim chun caint anocht faoi Scoil Gharbháin i nDún Garbháin i gContae Phort Láirge. Tá sága - scéal an-fhada - sa scoil seo i dtaobh síneadh a chur leis an bhfoirgneamh scoile. I raise the situation of Scoil Gharbháin in Dungarvan, County Waterford and the long-running saga the school community, the children, teaching staff, management, board and parents have been dealing with over several years. The Department of education has recently communicated the decision to the school that it is to scale back a long-approved nine-room extension. This decision has caused serious concern in the school community because it cuts across what was previously approved, communicated and planned for and what the school has been working towards in good faith over a number of years. In November 2024, after many years of delay and a lot of miscommunication and shifting goalposts, the Department issued a formal offer for a nine-room extension made up of four mainstream classrooms, two special education classrooms and three special education tuition rooms. That offer was made in response to an already recognised accommodation crisis in the school. Today, the school has 13 classes but only nine permanent classrooms, meaning the school cannot operate within its own physical capacity. As a result, children are being taught across a fragmented mix of off-site accommodation, prefab buildings and repurposed spaces that were never designed for long-term use. One of the classes is based off-site in a nearby secondary school. That has been the case for three years. This requires daily movement away from the school campus and results in a loss of normal teaching continuity. The children educated off site also lose out on the community they might otherwise enjoy. Another class has been located in the halla for five years. The entirety of the funds to build that halla were raised by the parents and school community. However, for almost all of that five years, it has served as a classroom. That has removed any kind of proper PE and assembly space from the school. The schoolyard is also taken up with two prefabs, which means there is no outdoor paved area for play on those days when it is not lashing rain. Kids are effectively kept in their classrooms. Those in the prefabs are dealing with damp, deteriorating conditions and structural concerns. The school, which was originally built for 100 pupils, now has 320 and demand is increasing. I should mention that this is a Gaelscoil in Dungarvan. Dungarvan has been recognised as a Gaeltacht service town for a number of years now. Government makes significant investment in promoting the use of Irish as a living community language in the town of Dungarvan. This is the sole Gaelscoil and it is intrinsically important to that project, to the school community, to the children who are educated there and to the promotion of Irish in west Waterford. There is no other Gaelscoil. There is no other option but demand increases. There is a naíonra on site which acts as a feeder for the school. There are waiting lists. Not only is this making teaching very difficult and not only is it impacting the learning experience of the children attending the school but it is also preventing parents from accessing oideachas trí Ghaelainn dá bpáistí, getting an education through the Irish language for their children. Next to the school is a 155-home housing development that is to come on stream in the next year or year and half. That is much needed in Dungarvan. Demand is only going to increase. In the catchment area, there are two English-language schools but both are landlocked and do not have room to expand. I should also mention that, back when I was a councillor, the Department of education funded Waterford City and County Council to buy a site to build an extension for this school. The site is there. It has been paid for with public funds. Approval was granted but the goalposts are now being shifted. To say that the school community feels utterly dejected and let down would be a massive understatement.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I will outline to the Dáil the current position on investments in school infrastructure in County Waterford. Waterford county is broken down into five school planning areas. An analysis of the primary school population in Waterford indicates that primary school enrolments will reduce in all areas over the next five years, with the exception of the school planning area of Ring, which may see a small increase in enrolments. Post-primary enrolments in all areas are projected to remain steady and to peak in the next few years. There are currently four school projects under construction in County Waterford. These projects are in addition to €150 million in capital funding for County Waterford schools since 2020. During that period, over 30 schools in County Waterford were upgraded through the provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or the provision of modular accommodation. In addition, approximately 120 small-scale improvement works were undertaken across the county's schools to address maintenance needs and enhance energy efficiency. Furthermore, since 2020, a total of 68 special classes have been sanctioned in County Waterford, of which 17 were sanctioned for September 2026. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period from 2026 to 2030 earlier this year. Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the large-scale, additional accommodation, modular and annual September accommodation needs programmes. The Department continues to build on the progress made over recent years with the roll-out of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, the Department also published a list of 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027. This list included two projects in County Waterford, one of which is the now under construction. The second project has moved to tender stage. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, a Department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027. This will include engagement with key stakeholders, including meetings with patrons this month. The Department-led energy and condition survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities. A next tranche of projects to proceed to tender is expected to be announced in 2027. Investment under the plan also involves the delivery of the first tranche of 297 projects under the climate action summer works scheme. This includes seven projects in County Waterford that are approved to undergo works this summer.

Gabhaim buíochas as sin ach níl sé ró-úsáideach dom ná do na daoine atá bainteach leis an scoil seo. I thank the Minister of State for the response. I appreciate him being here to read it. However, similar to other speakers tonight, I will put on record that I would much prefer it if one of the two Ministers in the Department of education were here. Neither is. That in itself tells us something. We could have a more engaging and robust conversation. That is no criticism of the Minister of State. To be fair, he is here doing his job. What we need here is real and meaningful engagement with the school. I had the school principal, the deputy principal and the chairperson of the board of management in Leinster House for some meetings this evening. I understand they are going to meet with the Minister tomorrow. However, that cannot just be a meeting to go through what the Minister of State has just said here. I hope the Minister has more to say to the school because this is holding back the ability of children to get an education, of educators to do their jobs safely and of parents to vindicate their children's right to an education through the medium of Irish. No matter what way you cut it, this is an infringement of children's basic rights, such as the right of children with special educational needs attending this excellent school to be able to get the educational interventions they need and deserve in an adequate and appropriate place. It infringes the right of children who are learning to move around during their break times and not be stuck in a classroom, sometimes a prefab classroom, without access to a halla or clós to go outside and play. We need a can-do attitude from the Minister tomorrow. We do not need a litany of what has been achieved, what might be achieved and what is aspired to. It is about the nuts and bolts of remedying this situation. If it is a matter of pointing to a miscommunication or error on the Department's part that it is going to solve, that is fine. We will take that all day long but we need an approach that aims to fix this and sets out how, and that involves working with the school community. They are reasonable people but they have been trying to get this extension for years.

The Department has a strong track record of delivering the Government's school building programme, with over €6.9 billion invested since 2020. This has delivered more than 1,400 completed school building projects along with over 4,000 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goals. A total capital ceiling of €7.55 billion for 2026 to 2030 was allocated to the Department of Education and Youth under the national development plan review. This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education, and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country. This €7.55 billion investment will be prioritised to ensure every child has a school place and it will support the overall operation of the school system and youth sector in terms of capital infrastructure. The Department puts a very strong emphasis on achieving value for money. Its focus is on delivering good quality functional accommodation for schools based on its suite of standard designs and specifications. That is the response I was given from officials in the Department of education. I wish the Deputy well in the meeting tomorrow. It is important that the school engages with the Minister. Perhaps, they will get some good news.