Brendan Smith presses for urgent Stage 2A approval for Breffney

Thank you very much. In November 2021, the then Minister of Education, Deputy Norma Foley, gave the initial project approval for the provision of additional permanent accommodation at Breffney College, Cavern Town. This major building project will enhance considerably the level of permanent accommodation at the school and is much needed due to increased enrolments at Breffney over the past number of years, an enrolment that continues to grow. I compliment the Cavernman Education and Training Board at Breffney College on submitting this successful application. The growth in population in the wider Cavern Town area has led to a substantial and consistent increase in enrolments. At that time in November 2021, I warmly welcomed the decision by Minister Foley to issue the initial project approval as I had supported Breffney College and the Cavernman ETB in submitting the application. The project is a major one and is to be welcomed. It will be provided under the additional school accommodation scheme and among the additional accommodation to be provided will be a number of general classrooms, special education teaching rooms, special education needs-based classrooms as well, science laboratories, engineering rooms, technology rooms, graphics rooms, art rooms, textiles rooms and other ancillary accommodation as well. And I have to say from having a detailed knowledge of the school that this accommodation is much needed as urgently as possible. In June 2024, the Cavernman ETB submitted all documentation for Stage 2A, which is basically a detailed design stage. This data documentation has been under consideration for almost 12 months now by the Department's technical and professional team. I say to you Minister, it is essential that the Department issue without further delay approval for this Stage 2A, which will then enable the ETB to seek planning permission for this major and much needed building project. I cannot emphasise how much Breffney College needs this accommodation. Some years ago we had an extension, an upgrading of facilities at Breffney and everyone in the school community is appreciative of that investment and accommodation. Unfortunately, the position now is that the present level of accommodation is very inadequate to meet the school's needs. I have been to Breffney College on many occasions and I see it first hand how crowded it is with its school population. A parent of students attending Breffney said to me recently that the school is packed, a very good analysis and description of the inadequate accommodation. That comment was made by a young lady who has a very detailed knowledge of education and school accommodation requirements generally. We refer to part of the school accommodation as the 1970s building and to meet the needs of the school going population today, that particular building needs to be reconfigured. Breffney College staff over the years have worked extremely hard to cater for all their pupils and particularly children with additional needs. They have approval for four ASD classes but have only three particular classrooms. I know that they are particularly anxious to have the proper accommodation for those classes. Coherly, over many years one of the features of Breffney has been the high proportion of students taking what are often referred to as the practical subjects. We know that the teaching of these subjects is enhanced so much by teachers and students having the specialist classroom accommodation for those particular subjects. Those subjects include construction, engineering, computer studies, technology and technical graphics and they are all an important part of Breffney College's subjects choice for their students. Minister, I wish you to bring back to the Department of Education the need to have Stage 2A approved without further delay because we know the planning permission takes some time and the ETB are very anxious to be able to submit the planning application to the Cameron County Council as soon as possible. I know that this was a project that you fought hard for and when you saw it and got initial approval in 2021 I say you didn't think that you'd be still here in 2025 seeking the Stage 2A to be progressed and approved but here we are now. I do accept that that's a long time and 12 months for the Stage 2A process is a long time as well and I will certainly bring back the Department. It is a very exciting project, it's incredible, four general classrooms, seven SCT rooms, three science labs with two preparation rooms, two engineering rooms, two technology rooms with two preparation rooms, one graphics room, one art room, one textiles room, one economics room and two classrooms for special education needs so it's an extraordinary project and I'm sure it's going to serve the people of Cavan and the students incredibly well. The delivery of this project has been devolved to Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board, a design team has been appointed to design the accommodation being provided and to bring the project through the tender and construction phases. Projects progress from stage to stage in accordance with the project brief and the Department's design guidelines. Under the ASA scheme, the Department has detailed procedures in place for appraisal, design, tender and construction of all school building projects. Design team procedures define the points in the project's lifecycle and which approval must be sought from the Department which aligns with the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework. These processes include the stage approval reviews which challenges all elements of design and specification. These are an essential element of good cost control and support market interest in our school building project. The project in Berthony College in Cavan, as Deputy Smith has already outlined, is currently at Stage 2A, involving the development of design along with an accurate cost plan which best meets the design and agreed as agreed at Stage 1. In June 2024, so almost 12 months ago, the Department received a Stage 2A report from Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board for review. Following the submission of the Stage 2A report, the Department has been carrying out an intensive review from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. All projects including this one will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the Public Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope and cost is crucial to staying within bodily limits for the overall programme. While the School naturally has ambitious timelines for the delivery of this project, the project forms part of our overall pipeline and each project's progression to the next stage. One Stage 2A report review is concluded. The Department will be in contact with Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board to advise how best to progress this important project. It is an incredible project and what this project is going to do for the education provision in Cavan is extraordinary. We have seen these projects rolled out right across Ireland over the last four or five years, and each town and area has benefited from it, and it is certainly high time now that Breffney College in Cavan was able to avail of this. These processes do take time, we have seen in the past where they have taken time, but I do accept that 12 months in Stage 2A is a long period and I will relay that back to the Minister and indeed to the Department directly myself to try and get progress so that at least an opinion can be given to the College as soon as possible and that they can continue. I thank the Minister for his reply and he is absolutely correct. It is an incredible and indeed a really exciting project for the wider school community in Breffney College. I want to take the opportunity to compliment the acting principal Breed Riley and all her staff on their commitment and hard work in the best interest of their students in Breffney College. That has been a strong tradition throughout the years in this school. Breffney staff and the wider school community have also worked hard to achieve the best possible integration at school for all students and that work has also been very successful. The school is also a varied and important programme of extracurricular activities in further students including different sporting disciplines and also drama and art. Minister, I stated at the outset again the importance that the school has for many many years attached to what we generally refer to as the practical subjects. As you outlined the schedule of accommodation provides for many of those classrooms that need that specialist accommodation and all of us in this house in the wider community speak about us preparing people with the skills to meet the needs of our economy and society today, be it construction technology or whatever. We want to ensure that when pupils are studying these subjects and their teachers that they have the best possible facilities for teaching and learning, both from the staff point of view and most importantly from the students point of view. Minister, my colleague Senator German Wilson and myself have worked closely with Breffney College and with Kavanagh and ETB over the years. Senator Wilson is a former pupil of Breffney College. I also want to take the opportunity to say to the Department of Education as well as they are well aware Kavanagh and Education and Training Board has an excellent record in delivering building projects. The work will be done properly, it will be done within the time frame and it would also be done within budget. They have actually carried out projects for primary schools outside their remit but doing it in the best interest of local community. So Minister, I am very anxious that Kavanagh ETB and Breffney College get that necessary approval so that we can get to planning permission stage and as we all know planning permission takes time so it will be some time before the students have the benefit of those new classroom facilities that will be hugely exciting and positive for the wider school community. But we need to see movement as soon as is possible. Thank you again Deputy Smith. I didn't know that Senator Dermot Wilson was a former pupil. I mean that's another testament to what a great education centre it is. But look, in all seriousness, thank you again for bringing this up. I know how hard you fought for this project and you'd love to see it more progressed except that 12 months is a long time for the for the principal, for the staff and for the board and for the parents to be wondering where they stand on this. And look, it will be built, it will be delivered, it's just a matter of getting that information and I suppose what I would suggest in at least in the interim in the meantime that we would ask the department to communicate with the principal and the board to say listen, give some expectation in terms of the timeline as to when the stage 2a will be approved and that they can carry on with the planning permission because it would be lovely to think that at least some of the students who are currently in Breffney College or currently studying there will be able to avail of the new school. We know that probably the sixth and fifth year students won't have that luxury but perhaps maybe students after that could and that I think that would be amazing if we could if we could get that going. But thank you again to Deputy Smith for bringing it up.