2026-03-25

Bogfaidh muid ar aghaidh chuig an chéad ábhar eile in ainmneacha na dTeachtaí Ardagh agus Ó Snodaigh.

I raise St. Seton's Secondary School in Ballyfermot, which the Minister of State is very familiar with because his late uncle, Brother Paul Moynihan, was a former principal of the school. The school was awarded DEIS plus status and that in itself tells a clear story about the level of need in the area and the level of support needed by the young people who attend this school. Despite that recognition, the school is still waiting for something basic, a permanent building for the children. We in this Chamber all know that these children deserve a new school. St. Seton's was formed from the amalgamation of three schools on the clear understanding that a new, modern, single-site campus would be delivered. That commitment was given to the school community at the time of the amalgamation. Yet, it is fair to say that commitment has not been honoured. Instead, the school continues to operate across two sites and that brings real, day-to-day challenges, not only for students, but also for staff and the wider school community. The school is doing everything right. It is inclusive to the core. It has multiple autism classes. It supports children with additional needs. It supports children from marginalised backgrounds and communities and a wide range of backgrounds. Nothing is too much for this school. I acknowledge the board of management and the principal, Ms Sarah Green, and her staff who are doing exceptional work in challenging circumstances. I have visited the school where I had the pleasure of participating in a podcast and I really enjoyed it. It highlights the welcoming culture of the school and the pride these students have in their school. However, pride is not enough and this is not what they deserve. We cannot ask the school to just continue with these amazing achievements and fantastic projects. We know they are doing great stuff. It is great that they have been recognised with DEIS plus status, but what they really need to absolutely thrive is basic infrastructure. I ask the Minister of State to please go back to the Department and look at this project and see what can be done to ensure the school is first on the list for a new building when the time comes around next year. It is so important for the people of Dublin South Central and for the children in this area.

Like Deputy Ardagh, I also commend the school community and in particular, those students who are attending the school who have had to put up with two campuses, which is a very difficult thing when a person is trying to concentrate on his or her studies and education. I commend Sarah Green, the school principal, and the whole team and the board of management on their work in trying to hold this together. This project is an amalgamation of three schools: Caritas College, St. John's College De La Salle and St. Dominic's College. This was sold - and that is the word I am using - to the school community and the public at large as a step forward. They were told that a single campus would be best and would serve the educational needs of Ballyfermot and the children best and would also address special needs education on a single campus. Yet, despite the fact that the planning for this started well before Covid and the amalgamation happened in 2023, there is no sight of any progress of any type in relation to the new build that was promised and the special education units and classrooms, six of which were promised. Despite the fact that parents were told by Catholic Education In Irish Schools Trust, CEIST, along with Le Chéile, that it would only initially be over two campuses and that this was the best thing for students into the future, they were told that progress had already been achieved. When we look at where they are now in terms of a school build, that seems to be a lie. There was no movement. There is still no movement. At this rate, it will be 2030 before any new build will be completed.

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue in relation to the secondary school in Ballyfermot. From childhood, I have heard of the St. John's College on Le Fanu Road, Ballyfermot, so it is no stranger to me. I know the school. I have been in the school a number of times in a private capacity, and I have also met with some of the team there in different roles over the past 12 months. I take the opportunity of thanking the Deputies for raising the issue. They spoke about the three colleges coming together, St. John's, St. Dominic's and Caritas College, and amalgamating two sites and bringing them to St. John's College and Le Fanu Road site as the planned location for the new school building, which has the junior element of the amalgamated schools, and St. Dominic’s College, which is the senior element. The Minister, Deputy Naughton met recently with the school principal and representatives and both Deputies have been engaging constantly with the school management on this issue. This is a hugely innovative, proactive and exciting project for Ballyfermot, St. John's and indeed, the entire region. My commitment to the Deputies is that the school building project is currently planned to be delivered as part of phase 2 of the Department's ADAPT 4 innovative programme. I take their points on when the amalgamation was coming forward. It is always fiercely exciting when the Department comes in and says, "If you do an amalgamation, we will ensure the project is moving forward at pace.” We need to make sure that does happen and that in terms of getting school boards of management and communities to amalgamate together, we follow up with decisions in a timely manner. This campus is aimed at providing over 1,000 places for second level education, which is hugely important. My commitment is that we will go back and re-engage, and I will take the concerns the Deputies raised. I will also take my own personal commitment to and involvement with the school. I could nearly name some of the teachers who taught in St. John's over many years, including people from my own community. I know the expertise, commitment and determination of the people involved in relation to it, and how they want to see this through. They are true educators and people who are really seriously committed, not just about making sure they have the day-to-day running but having the future education requirements of the greater Ballyfermot area at heart. l undertake, as a result of this Topical Issue this morning, to re-engage with the Department to ensure decisions are made in a timely manner, to ensure this project can move forward and to give substance to the commitment that was given at the start of the amalgamation process, that this would be dealt with in a timely manner. I would love to see this project moving forward for a variety of reasons, but most importantly, for the communities and people and future direction of education for the people of Ballyfermot. I take into consideration the commitment the community has to special education. I will make a few more comments in my closing remarks.

I really appreciate the Minister of State’s genuine response. He has a family connection to the school. As I said, I do not know how the school fell so behind on the list when it was promised a new building. Let us hope we can change that and do something to ensure that St. Seton's is a priority school when it comes to the Department's school building programme. We would love to have the Minister of State out to visit St Seton's Secondary School and to see first hand the amazing work the school community is doing. I thank him again. I really appreciate the effort he has promised to make to the school. Hopefully, we can follow that up in the next few weeks. I thank my colleague also for supporting this. Both of us are working together to ensure this happens for Ballyfermot.

Cosúil leis an Teachta Ardagh, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit as díriú isteach ar an gceist seo. It is important the message goes out here that progress will happen. It is pity that it did fall well behind because we still do not have even the integrated project team in place. For anything to happen that has to be in place, and planning permission has to be sought, along with tenders for that building. I do not wish to be dismissive in some ways, but given the answers I have received in recent times, it does not look like any building works will be on this site for at least the next two to three years. We want that to be fast-tracked to ensure those pupils who went in for first year in 2023 see some progress, rather than continuously, year after year, going in and being spread over two campuses. The reason they got DEIS plus status is along with the pressures on the community already, there is additional pressure because this build has not happened.

I certainly will take up the invitation to visit the school as soon as is humanly possible. I know there is a lot of great work going on at all levels of education within the school campuses. On foot of this debate, we need to make sure that the practical steps are being taken as regards the project team and planning permission, and on to other work. We need to make sure that we have sight of this and that there is meaningful engagement between the Department and the school communities. There is always huge excitement with amalgamations but we must follow that up with actions. There are particular building blocks to make sure a project is completed or started so we need to make sure that those blocks are in place and that there is real, tangible movement. I give a commitment to go back to the Department and engage very seriously with the officials and my senior colleague to make sure this project moves forward. I give an undertaking as well to visit the school for a variety of reasons. I have a personal interest in it. I would like to see Ballyfermot moving forward as well. It is the right thing to do, not just for the school communities who have amalgamated and the school authorities who have engaged in a very good faith way to amalgamate but also for the education of the communities in Ballyfermot into the future. I undertake to visit and also to engage seriously with the Department to try to make sure this project moves forward and that there are tangible and measurable steps taken to ensure we bring it to amalgamation and to construction.