School Facilities
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-14
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James O'Connor (FF), Cork East

I thank the Minister for the response. I want to highlight the Department has agreed the area of circa 1.9 acres to the north of the campus in the Department's ownership can be used as a recreation area by the school on a licence basis. Following on from those comments, I would like to get an insight into how long that is going to take. I welcome it; I really do. I wish we did not have to wait so long to get a reply in respect of that query. I am glad to hear it is progressing. I appreciate that processes sometimes take significant time but the ultimate goal here is to provide the 1,500 pupils in the school complex with the green area they need. This also recognises the fact that Carrigtwohill remains one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Cork County Council is expecting 40% of the county's population growth to happen on the Carrigtwohill to Midleton corridor in the next decade. We heard that recently at the briefing by the chief executive of the county council.
I welcome this response. All I would ask is that we would get insight into this as a matter of urgency. The schools are adamant that they would like to try to get an AstroTurf or all-weather facility onsite. There is obviously the need to ensure the Department of sport is happy to provide the grant aid required for these types of projects. We know complications arise when it comes to the conditions of ownership. The Department should not create any difficulty there if they come to a satisfactory arrangement with Cork ETB to allow this to proceed. Again, I want to express my gratitude. It is nice to see there is a way to resolve this.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-14