Paul Murphy: School Unsafe After 12-Year Delay

Thanks a lot, yeah I mean this is very simple, the school building as it is is simply not fit for continued use, there's serious health and safety concerns. When we visited there was you know very clearly water still coming through sitting on top of tiles, you could see water coming in beside this interactive electric panel clearly representing a danger. A couple of years ago there was a partial roof collapse or ceiling collapse while children were in class, there's mould, it's simply not suitable as it is. But what's frustrating is that this was recognised 12 years ago, May 2014, an architect appointed by the Department of Education who recommended a complete rebuild for both schools and yet still we don't have substantial progress. This has been a real saga, the latest step of it, it was July of last year that full 2A plans were submitted by the school, they still have no formal acknowledgement even of that or a timeline for that. We know they got it, I mean I asked the officials at the Public Accounts Committee last week and they did acknowledge that they have it but it's simply not acceptable. What they're looking for is a meeting with the Minister and the officials to sit down to map out a timeline to make sure that these children get a suitable school building as soon as possible. Go raibh maith agat. Go raibh maith agat and I thank the deputies for raising the issue. I must compliment you as a constituency, nearly every issue that you raise is really cross-party and it is great to see it because education is so important. It is very important that a unified, we've had a number of issues that we are working with but it's important as well to acknowledge the cross-cooperation that you have in relation to this and this shows to me the challenges that are in relation to the school and the decision that was taken, a major project for the school was to build 20 mainstream classrooms along with additional classrooms for special education needs and associated work and the project is currently at 2A of the Architectural Planning and Design where the preferred design option is developed to a stage where the project can be fully cost planned and prepared to lodge for the statutory approvals. The department received that submission in July of 2025 and the detailed review is currently ongoing and part of the submission review will include the stakeholders, the meeting with the school authorities, the design team, the project manager which will be held once the stage 2A report has been reviewed. I think it is important because that is the crucial piece, we have that report with a number of months of this stage and as you quite rightly said that the officials did confirm to you that we have it so we need to move that on to the next stage. I suppose there's two issues here, there is the overall and I suppose it is exasperating you know in many of the questions that I'm answering here on an ongoing basis is the delay in school buildings to get from the designers from the initial thoughts in relation to it, there is no doubt but you have demonstrated quite clearly that there is need for this for this school and the department have accepted it going back over a decade or so ago at this stage but it's important that we will move with the submission that is there. The other issue I want just on the immediacy of the roof just to clarify is there an application in for emergency works for that at the moment so I will endeavour to go back on that application and see where that is at but it's important as well that we you know rather than giving a lip service to it in the door here on the floor I do understand the seriousness of it because of the cross cooperation between the the deputies here and I will endeavour to find out where the submission is at and how soon we can get that reviewed and on into the next to all the stakeholders. There's a lot of detailed planning that goes in to ensure that we're getting the best possible. The government are and have committed over the last number of years and into the future a huge amount of funding into the school buildings right across the country and it is clearly in school visits that I have done we have often seen where there are major challenges in relation to the building so what I will do is I will go back to the department and I will ensure that the the submission that was received in July of this year is reviewed in a timely manner and that engagement is brought back into the stakeholders, the school authorities and all of the other people the project manager and so forth to allow it to move on and I will endeavour as well to ensure that I can report back to the three deputies as to where the current application for emergency walks is. Thanks yeah just quote from the roof report carried out by Morris roofing and cladding slots in it but key point is the roof has gone beyond economic repair due to its nearly 50 years of age and that's fundamentally the problem is that the school is over 50 years old and it needs to be replaced with a new building that's not just the opinion of some teachers or some students or some parents it's the opinion of the architect originally appointed by the department 12 years ago and I would also say there's an additional issue here in terms of when the new school building opens there'll be 36 extra places in special classes which obviously for the children in the area for you in terms of your particular responsibilities is an extra reason to get this happening as quick as possible re-emphasize the point about a meeting with the minister and official community or funding that is going in from the state into any new schools or in this instance new schools it's important that we have the special education part of it as well it's a decision that's been taken by us in the department to ensure that we are accommodating children with additional needs within any new build but I do take the point right you know it is a 12 years you looked at 2011-2014 it is too long and you know the project there is a report in within the department I will endeavor to find out where that is at and I do take the point as well some of the times we spend an awful lot of time and effort and money to try and patch something up while we're waiting for the essential building you're looking at here you know you mentioned four years for the time of completion you're looking at you know a number of cohorts of students who would have started out thinking that this would be completed by the time they would complete and it takes you know another round of students to go through the process again I will endeavor to do that I think that I will look for to have a meeting and a serious engagement with the deputies and the department of education to ensure that we can prioritize this and that we can make sure that any roadblocks in the way are moved out of it but also that we understand the challenges and I suppose right across Dublin it is great to see schools that have space because we are really challenged in relation to space in a lot of Dublin school communities but to see space here we need to utilize it and we need to make sure that we are doing that so I will endeavor to go back and find out what is happening with the with the report that's with the department since July of 2025 and also the request that the that you have asked for me I will endeavor to do that as well so thank you very much.