2026-04-16

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit St. Mary’s in Oldtown, which is in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West. I want to begin by sincerely thanking Julie, the principal, for making me feel so welcome. What stood out to me immediately was not just the dedication of the staff but the strength of the entire school community. The teachers, SNAs and the board of management are deeply committed and compassionate and are working tirelessly to support every child under their care. However, it is impossible to ignore the reality in which they are doing this work. The building is over 80 years old and is under immense pressure. Much of the school operates out of outdated temporary accommodation. There are storage heaters instead of proper central heating. There is damp and mould present in classrooms. There are leaks, the floors have holes in places and the temporary building is warped. These issues give rise to real safety concerns. This is not just inconvenient; it is unacceptable. There are 78 children in the school, including 12 in the special autism class. These children, some of whom have additional and complex needs, are learning in conditions that are cramped, cold and not fit for purpose. The facilities available to them do not reflect the care, dignity and support they deserve. This raises a fundamental question about equity. How is it fair that some children in our education system are taught in warm, modern and well-equipped buildings while others are expected to learn in environments that are deteriorating around them? What message does that send? From where I stand, it communicates something deeply troubling: that some school communities are valued less than others. The same applies to the staff. Teachers and SNAs in this school are on the Department’s payroll, just like their colleagues elsewhere. Why should some educators have to work in cold, inadequate conditions, while others do not? Their dedication should be matched with basic standards of safety and comfort. The school is currently at stage 2a of the planning process for a new building, but progress has been slow. In the meantime, the conditions remain the same or worsen. The reality is that delays have real human consequences. They affect children’s learning, well-being and sense of belonging. They affect staff morale and their ability to deliver the high-quality education they are striving to provide. I also want to acknowledge and thank those who have been supporting the school and advocating on its behalf. I am asking for two things. The first is that the Department acknowledge the reality that the accommodation currently being provided at St. Mary’s Oldtown is substandard and not acceptable for any child or staff member. The second is that urgent action be taken. This means progressing the long-delayed building project to the next stage without further delay, and in the interim, providing funding for essential works to address the most immediate issues, such as heating, safety and basic infrastructure in the school. Ultimately, this is about fairness. It is about dignity. It is about ensuring that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to a safe, warm and supportive learning environment. St. Mary’s Oldtown is a school full of potential, care and commitment. It deserves a building that reflects that.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the school building project for St. Mary's Oldtown, County Dublin. This project was approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline under the additional school accommodation scheme and is devolved for delivery to the school authority. The project will provide three mainstream classrooms, one special education tuition room and a two-classroom special educational needs base. The project is currently at stage 2a, detailed design, of the architectural design process. The stage 2a report has been submitted to the Department and is currently under review from both a technical and cost perspective. All projects, including this one, are subject to the full due diligence requirements set out in the Department’s infrastructure guidelines. Although this project is not within the first tranche of school building projects recently published in the NDP sectoral investment plan, it remains part of the Department’s overall pipeline of school building projects. The NDP sectoral plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard, there will be a strong special education dimension to the project roll-out. The Department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years by continuing to roll out projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, the Department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 in order to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the design pipeline, having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and individual schools and will ultimately inform the next tranches of programme roll-out to tender. 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. Based on the ongoing prioritisation process, some projects may be added to the list over the course of 2026 and 2027, having regard to their prioritisation and urgency of need, and taking account of the ongoing ability to progress them to tender and construction within the parameters of overall funding. Where appropriate, the Department will also assess opportunities to undertake advance enabling works for the most urgent and complex projects to facilitate a smooth progression to construction in 2028 and beyond. Any interim accommodation requirements will continue to be assessed and considered by the Department on a case-by-case basis to determine the prioritised needs and approach for addressing same.

I accept that due diligence needs to be carried out, that everything needs to be ticked off and that the boxes need to be ticked. The year 2028 would mean a long time waiting for the next tranche, so I thank the Minister of State for clarifying that additional projects may be taken on in the interim if the school reaches significant progression within the project stages. In the spirit of moving this on, the school has recently requested a meeting between the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the board of management. While an agenda was sought by the Minister's office, a meeting has yet to be confirmed. I would strongly urge that this engagement takes place without further delay. I would be happy to invite the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to the school and would be happy to facilitate such a meeting with the school community and board, should that be necessary.

Deputy O'Donoghue will appreciate that I am answering on behalf of my colleague. He has made a strong and compelling case for additional works at this school in the very near future. We were all disappointed when the announcement was made some months ago if schools that we articulate on behalf of in our respective constituencies were excluded. The amount of resources is always finite, so there has to be prioritisation. From my perspective, and even from the Deputy’s perspective, I am happy to see in this reply that the Department is not cutting out the possible inclusion of other schools depending on the need in 2026 and 2027. It is helpful that it allows for the opportunity for enabling works to be done that would allow it to go to construction in 2028. To me, that indicates a Department that is willing to work with the school authorities to ensure that any additional works that can be done in 2026 and 2027 will be done, which is welcome. There is also an acknowledgement that, at a time of resource constraints, it may be possible to do enabling works so that shovels are ready to hit the ground in 2028. The Deputy has made a case on behalf of the school in question. I undertake to relay what he has said to the Minister, Deputy Naughton.