2026-02-17

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am aware the Minister, Deputy Naughton, cannot be here tonight and has indicated the same. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will pass on my sentiments. I know he will have a prepared statement from the Minister. I will provide context for the Minister of State and to put it on the record. St. Mary's Boys' National School is a popular primary school in the old Lucan area with over 500 students. It was initially a small, traditional-type school and then in the 1970s they built a three-storey building. I attended that school, as did my son, so I am hugely familiar with it. It is down in a valley. It is antiquated in some ways, though they have had a couple of modular buildings added onto it. It is the envy of many other schools because of the playing pitch it has. This is a huge amenity. During Covid, anyone within 2 km was down on that pitch. Kids were running around, keeping their distance. One of the local GAA clubs uses the ball wall and the pitches regularly. Cumann na mBunscol matches are on. There are many amenities on the site when it is not raining. The school community has been hugely welcoming in terms of trying to get the two modular buildings for children with autism spectrum disorder, ASD. The issue is the discussions with the Department have not gone the way the school anticipated. It is on a very sensitive site because it is beside the special amenity area for the Liffey Valley. It is a flood risk of close to one in 1,000 years but it is a walled school which has its own natural safety features. The design of any type of building could keep flood risks at bay. The school's preferred option was at the back of the school in the tarmac part of the yard so it could keep the ball wall and the pitch. The Department came back and suggested an alternative site. It wants to eat into the grass pitch. The school suggested the two modular units be located close to an existing prefab in need of refurbishment. At a meeting with the school, the Department said the application to refurbish this other building is totally separate; however, there is a synergy involved because it is putting all the children in one area and providing access to the amenities in one location. There are many benefits to that. Crucially, it does not go onto the pitch. That is the nub of the issue. We have had discussions. There was an online meeting with the Department on 6 February. It did not go the way the school had hoped. It had done a consultant's report last summer and put in proposals. At the meeting, the Department basically said the other application is not a priority and the only priority is the two modular buildings that have been sanctioned. The Department gave the board until last Friday to confirm whether it consents and stated that if the school disagrees with the proposal, it will have to talk to the patron and consider taking legal action. That is a very negative way to deal with a school that is only trying to look after the health, safety and well-being of all its more than 500 pupils. Surely, we need a solution that works for everyone, to keep at it until we find something and not to get rid of that pitch.

I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton. It gives the Department of Education and Youth the opportunity to discuss St. Mary’s Boys' National School, Lucan. I can see the Deputy has a deep personal interest, apart from being a TD for the area. I will give him the answer I have been provided with. If there are particular matters he wishes me to take back, I will deal with those on the conclusion. The Deputy will be aware St. Mary’s Boys' National School, Lucan, is under the patronage of the archdiocese of Dublin. The school is in the Lucan school planning area. It had an enrolment in September 2025 of 495 pupils and a staffing of 21 mainstream teachers and three special class teachers. In June 2022, the school was given approval under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for a traditional build project to deliver four mainstream classrooms, three special education tuition rooms, two special education classrooms and one universal access WC, along with the repurposing of existing accommodation to create one special education classroom. This project was devolved to the school authorities for delivery and it is currently at stage 1 - preliminary design. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure essential mainstream classroom and special education needs, SEN, accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. In March 2025, the school was sanctioned additional special education classes by the National Council for Special Education. The Department’s planning and building unit engaged with the school authorities with a view to encouraging the school to apply for the ASA scheme. On foot of this application the school was assessed to determine the best accommodation options available for special class provision and it was proposed that the Department’s modular framework would be utilised due to the demand for classes in the area. The modular framework involves the use of project management supports, which are designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. The Department-appointed project manager visited the school and engaged with the school authorities in relation to the location of the proposed modular accommodation. The school authorities were anxious to preserve as much of the green area available at the school, which the Deputy mentioned, as possible and the Department endeavoured to facilitate this. The site in question is challenging for many reasons due to its close proximity to the Liffey Valley proposed natural heritage area. It is within a designated riparian corridor and a flood risk zone. Officials from the Department met with the school authorities on the issues on a number of occasions to try to progress the project. There are fire safety considerations which also have to be addressed when considering the location of the modular accommodation due to the requirement for a turning circle for emergency services and proximity to a fire hydrant. More recently, the school asked for another modular unit to be provided, along with the project currently under consideration, for the replacement of a prefab on site. The school authorities were advised that consideration of this would not be possible at this time. The Department of Education and Youth recently published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. The plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the urgent need. At a recent meeting with the school authorities, departmental officials outlined that there was only one viable option available for the progression of modular accommodation at the school when considering the funding available to the Department and the site in question. The school authorities were reminded of the high need for special class places in the area and, to try to provide the necessary classes, it was agreed that a deadline of February 13 was required, as the Deputy referenced. The Deputy will appreciate that the Department has been working with the school authorities for just under a year to try to progress the project. There is a degree of urgency due to the need in the area. Furthermore, the modular project being proposed would still leave the school with a large amount of green space available for use.

As I said, I know the area very well. The consultants for the school pointed out that the entire site is within the riparian corridor. What the Department of education is proposing and what the school proposed are both within that. That, therefore, cannot be used as a viable excuse for not looking at an alternate site. The school is worried that the three ASD classes will be disjointed if two are at the front of the school and one is at the rear. Basically, in the context of value for money, money is being thrown down the drain for works that will be required down the line, possibly at greater cost, if this is not looked at now. There are two separate things to look at in this regard. First, it is common sense to have the three buildings conjoined and the works carried out in a cost-effective way. Notwithstanding that, it is equally important that green space should not be built on. The response that there will still be green space does not take away from the fact that the pitch will be gone for those junior kids. There is not enough green space left for a junior-size GAA, rugby or soccer match if that is eaten into. A lot of schools in the Lucan area do not even have a pitch, but taking this space away to make it like every other school is not the way to treat a school community. That is a huge resource and, with a little bit of joined-up thinking, we could still get the modular buildings in. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider this from a cost-effectiveness point of view and build these three units together holistically. Separately, the Department should go back to the drawing board and have further discussions because some of the arguments being used do not wash when they are added up. Ultimately, we are looking out for the best interests of the children, both those going into the ASD classes and the 500-plus students who use the existing amenity.

I thank Deputy Gogarty for the opportunity to outline the position in relation St. Mary's Boys National School, Lucan. As I stated, I am talking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I assure the Deputy that the Department of education has worked closely with the school authorities in relation to the school application for additional school accommodation, and it will continue to do so. The Department is cognisant of the concerns of the school in respect of its green space. Officials have tried to preserve as much of the area as possible while working within a challenging site in terms of available options. The Deputy will appreciate that the Department is required to utilise the funding available to it to ensure that every child has access to a school place. Indeed, there is a large demand for special class provision in the Lucan school planning area. The Department encourages the school authorities to engage with it directly about its concerns. I will take the matters the Deputy raised back to the Minister, Deputy Naughton. I have no doubt the Deputy will follow up in his own way, maybe via email, and correspond with the Minister in respect of the precise proposals he is putting forward.