2026-06-25

I am joined by my constituency colleagues, from the Opposition and the Government, in relation to this issue. Sancta Maria College got approval for a new school gym and drama room back in 2001. That is 25 years, a quarter of a century, ago. Right now, the school has two half-built structures after the construction company went into liquidation eight years ago. Generations of students have come and gone without the facilities that were promised. Worse still, there are leaks in the roof and difficulties with the sewerage system. The school has been waiting for more than a year now for a stage 2b report to be responded to by the Department of education. Without the Department's approval, the school cannot move to the tendering process and get the works back on track. The tender process takes long enough without the perpetual delays which dealing with the Department always entails. Will the Minister of State make a commitment to the pupils and teachers from Sancta Maria College that another generation of students will not pass through the school staring at a half-built extension?

I thank my colleagues for joining me in bringing this question forward. We do this sometimes in this Chamber. Sancta Maria College is unfinished business. It is an unfinished school. A school without a sports hall is not a school. A school without performance facilities and space and creative space and facilities is not a finished school either. It is what we can call an incomplete school or an uncompleted school, giving, essentially, an incomplete education to the girls who attend there and have attended there for a number of years. What a school it is, when we look at the students, teachers, the principal, the board of management and the parents council. Through no fault of their own, a building, as was explained earlier, is unfinished and incomplete, yet the school still seems to max out in terms of the success and education it delivers. It remains, however, an incomplete school delivering an incomplete education.

The issue of a school not having a sports hall is one very close to my heart because I went to the boys' school next door to Sancta Maria College, Coláiste Éanna, as did Deputy Lahart. For my entire time there, we had no sports hall. It means the school cannot offer PE, which is so important for children's mental and physical health. Even in the time since a sports hall was completed in Coláiste Éanna, we can see that a basketball club has developed in the area. It is a case of if you build it, they will come. It is such an important asset, not just for the school but for the area too. As the other Deputies have said, this is something that has been completely out of the school’s control. The building project started back in 2018. In 2020, during Covid, the developer, the builder, went bust. In the six years since then, nothing has happened. We now have a derelict site right beside a school. As Deputy Lahart said, we have an incomplete school with incomplete education, but we also have a fairly serious health and safety risk to the school community and the community at large. A small fire was started in that area. There are potential insurance issues for the school because of that. We are just looking for the school to get this building completed, as was promised 25 years ago, as Deputy Crowe said.

I thank Deputies Crowe, Lahart and Ahern for raising this important matter on behalf of their constituents. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the school project for Sancta Maria College, Ballyroan, Rathfarnham, County Dublin. The completion project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at stage 2b, architectural planning-detailed design. The brief is for a completion contract for refurbishment works and a sports hall, following termination of the original contract. The design team completed a stage 2b submission which is currently with the Department for review. The 105 projects prioritised to proceed to tender and-or construction in 2026 and 2027 represent a first tranche of large-scale extension and modular projects. However, further tranches will be prioritised to proceed at a later stage over what is a five-year national development plan, NDP, with a total investment of €7.55 billion. The projects selected for the initial tranche were already at stage 3, tender stage, and the most urgent projects at stage 2b, detailed design, that had planning permission. Projects not already at this stage of readiness were not eligible for consideration for the initial tranche. The stage 2b projects selected to progress were identified as meeting the most urgent requirements from a special education, demographics or building condition perspective. 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 includes engagement with key stakeholders, and this has commenced recently. 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. Engagement with individual schools will also continue and will include the consideration of issues such as any interim accommodation requirements and, in some cases, advancing enabling works to facilitate smooth progress to construction at a later stage. It is important to note that the 105 projects on the initial NDP priority list represent a subset of the overall school building programme. In total, there are 260 to 300 projects under construction at any one time. Over the course of 2026, some 1,000 school projects of varying scales will be under construction. In addition to large-scale extension and modular projects, the projects include climate action projects, summer works and repurposing of rooms for special education classes. I will bring the specific point raised on behalf of the Deputies' constituents, and more particularly the pupils, staff, parents and wider community, to the attention of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, and her Department. I can see that this is something of great importance to the Deputies in their representational roles and particularly to the people they represent.

The big question we ask is why the school has not been prioritised. It is a half-finished school. The Minister of State has outlined the number of projects that are planned and the funding that is being allocated, but the question the parents, teachers and pupils are asking is, "Why not our school?" It is a fair question. Children deserve the best and most modern facilities. We cannot live with a process that can last over 25 years. I again ask the Minister of State to go back to his ministerial colleagues and raise this. The school needs to be put on some list. What is happening is unfair and wrong and I do not think anyone could stand over it.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for that. I appreciate him bringing back our sentiments to the Minister. Before starting on a new project, why not finish the projects that are outstanding? What is happening is through no fault of the school itself. It is affecting how the school attracts students and how education is provided there. It is affecting enrolment and the school's ability to enrol. It is also affecting wider personal, physical, mental and well-being education. On top of that, the site is a building site. We really appreciate the Minister of State taking on board what we are saying, and we look forward to hearing from and engaging further with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, as the year goes on.

I thank the Minister of State for his comments. The project has been at stage 2B for a considerable period, for the last year in fact, and the school is just waiting to hear back from the Department. We know that another tranche of projects is going to be approved. As the Minister of State said, there will be new projects approved in early 2027. The school wants to know what it needs to do to ensure it is on the list for early 2027. If the Minister of State could arrange a meeting with the Department, it would be helpful. One of the issues the school is having is that it is just not getting anything back from the Department. Even facilitating some communication for the school and ensuring that it can do everything possible to ensure it is next in line for the next tranche would be helpful.

Once again, the completion of the building project for Sancta Maria College in Ballyroan is a very important matter. It is currently at stage 2B, architectural planning and detailed design. The brief is a completion contract for refurbishment works and a sports hall, following termination of the original contract. The design team completed a stage 2B submission, which is currently with the Department for review. 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 includes engagement with key stakeholders, and this has commenced recently. 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. In the Deputies' follow-up questions, they requested a meeting with the Department. I will take that up with the Minister. I have no doubt that the three experienced politicians raising this matter will follow up with correspondence, directly with the Department and Minister, seeking such a meeting on behalf of their constituents to progress the school building project.