2026-07-01

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue debate. I want to raise the matter of the proposed amalgamation of two schools in the lower harbour area of Cork. These are Ringaskiddy national school and Shanbally National School. This is a project that has been in the pipeline for many years but, unfortunately, remains effectively stalled and has been so for the past number of years. There is very little progress to show. I thank the Minister of State for visiting the school in Shanbally in recent months and seeing at first hand the condition of the school building. It is a school with nine classrooms, six of them prefabs. Many of these prefabs are old and in very poor condition with sagging ceilings, collapsing floors, dampness, electrical issues, and health and safety issues. Similar significant issues arise in Ringaskiddy. Neither school got much investment in recent years because this amalgamation was proposed and supposedly happening. The teachers, principals, students, parents and communities have to put up with two schools that are simply not fit for purpose in terms of the educational needs of today. In terms of size, Shanbally National School has just under 200 students and Ringaskiddy national school is smaller, with about 60 students. Despite all I have outlined about the conditions of the buildings, they are fantastic schools that provide an outstanding educational service. They provide a very strong emphasis on special education, also. They are wonderful schools for any child to go to despite the issues with the physical buildings. The teaching staff are outstanding and the school communities, atmospheres and learning environments are second to none. As I have outlined, the project seems to be stalled. It is to be delivered under phase 2 of the Department's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, 4 programme. A project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023, which is more than three years ago. This person had the task of preparing documentation for the tender process and the appointment of an integrated project team. I am anxious to get an update on the tender process. As the Minister of State can appreciate, there is deep frustration that it has taken so long after the appointment of the project manager to progress with the tender phase of the project. When I raised this matter as a Topical Issue just over six months ago in December 2025, the reply at the time was very much focused on the fact that there was an issue with the site. I reiterate that there is absolutely no issue with the site. To give the history briefly, a site was acquired a number of years ago but it was then acquired for the M28 project and the construction of the motorway. A different site has now been identified and IDA Ireland is in the process of transferring it to the council, which will then transfer it to the diocesan office. This is at an advanced stage and the council is finalising the acquisition of the site. I have it in writing from the council that it will fully co-operate with any planning application and any design work. The site itself will not be an issue and there will not be a delay. I really do not want the Department to use the site as a delaying tactic because there is no reason whatsoever that the project cannot proceed through the design and planning phase. The school site will be fully acquired and in the possession of the diocesan office so that it can progress with this project. I would like an update on the overall project. The Minister of State visited the school in Shanbally and saw at first hand its condition. He will accept that the schools are not acceptable, given the standard of education we expect for our children and the standard of the environment and school buildings they attend.

I thank Deputy McGrath for his question. I visited the school in Shanbally and saw the condition of it. I saw the excellent work being done by the school community - the teachers, the SNAs and everybody involved - and the commitment those people have to education. Both schools are co-education primary schools catering for boys and girls from junior to sixth class. Both schools have agreed to amalgamate, with a new school building to be constructed. The new school is expected to be located on a six-acre site that is privately owned. If I understand it correctly, this will be transferred to the council and then to the diocesan trust. This is a very important element and I will certainly relay the comments of Deputy McGrath back to the planning and building unit. A lot of the time, technical transfers are slow and cumbersome. When the transfer is made to the diocesan trust, we can make the decisions; we will have the site and we can move on to the next level. Both schools are in separate buildings and Deputy McGrath understands all of this quite well. What we need to do today is make sure that we have the pieces together to move it on. I saw the condition of the school in Shanbally. Something needs to be done in the Department. We have project managers and others in place for this project. From what I have heard from Deputy McGrath today, the transfer of the site is progressing through various stages. If there is further documentation or information that Deputy McGrath can bring to the table, I would appreciate it in terms of the timeline, as we could then put it on the table and say that the site was moving forward. We could then move to the next stage. With the best will in the world, there are a number of stages to go through, including planning and design. I know that Deputy McGrath will work with the local authority to ensure it passes through this stage. The local authority is very open to it and it understands it. The site has been earmarked. Without going through all of the detail, the brief is for 16 classrooms, as Deputy McGrath is well aware. This is about the amalgamation of both schools. Deputy McGrath indicated that there were about 200 pupils in one school and 60 in the other. This is very important for education, not alone now, but in future. If I could get sight of the transfer documents, I could then take them to the planning and building unit and we could ensure that a speedy response is given as fast as possible. We often talk about delays and legal issues but we have to try to cut through this. I have seen for myself the situation and I will certainly do what we can in the Department to move the project on.

I thank the Minister of State. I want to put on the record my appreciation for the Minister of State taking the time to visit the school. He visited Shanbally National School and heard about Ringaskiddy national school and the conditions there, and about how critical this project was. I want to be absolutely clear about the land and I can furnish documentation to the Minister of State. A response from a senior person in Cork County Council states that, while finalisation of the acquisition is taking place and in advance of the formal transfer of land subject to section 183, Cork County Council will support any planning application submitted in respect of the new school and will also provide a letter of consent to accompany the planning submission at the appropriate time. There is no reason whatsoever that the land issue should cause any delay. I notice from the reply this evening, which is deeply disappointing, that we do not appear to have progressed in the tender process since December last year. It is the exact same update, stating that the project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023 and was in the process of preparing documentation for the tender process for the appointment of an integrated project team. That is the exact same language as in the reply I received in December 2025. This is deeply frustrating and it is very difficult for me as a public representative to go back to the communities, principals, parents and teaching staff and say that this project has not moved forward. I do not want to be disingenuous, and I hope work is progressing on the tender process, but the reply seems to be the exact same, which is very frustrating. To reiterate, the project is vital for these two school communities. The conditions they operate in at present are not acceptable. It has been promised for many years. This project has been in the pipeline for in excess of 15 years. There was an issue with the original site not being available because of the motorway project, which was facilitated. I plead with the Minister of State to go back to the Department and ensure that we progress the project once and for all and that the school communities - students, parents, families, teaching staff, principals and everyone else - have buildings that are suitable for the educational requirements of these children.

I accept that. The Department is very committed to this. It has carried out a survey and the reports are very clear that this project must go ahead. There were delays over 15 years. The frustration in relation to a project like this is sometimes about it taking so much time. The point is, though, that we need to have sight of the exact legal situation because to progress the project to the tender documents and planning stages, we would have to be 100% certain. I would appreciate if I could get the document the Deputy read from, because I would like to try to get that in and to try to start moving. This is a fundamental aspect. I am referring to the site, the land and the history with other sites and so forth. We have to have that information as the underpinning that will allow us to move forward. If we go to planning, tender and other stages, we must make sure that we have ownership of the site. This is the fundamental aspect to moving the project to the next stage. There is a lot of work ready to go. The specification in terms of what is being designed there - the 16 classrooms and all of that - exists, but we need to have certainty about the site. I will take that document from the Deputy and any other supporting documentation he has. I will raise this issue and push it as hard as I can with the planning and building unit in the Department.