Education Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-12
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James Geoghegan (FG), Dublin Bay South

I thank the Minister of State for his response on behalf of the Minister and the Department. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. In the context of any appeal the school may bring, I take note of the link between the significant amount of funds provided for the electrical works scheme and the challenge that, for whatever reason under the Department's system, a downpipe does not meet the necessary threshold that, perhaps, electrical installations, emergency lighting or fire alarms meet. The school faced this issue previously. It is a protected building. Funding was received for windows that have been installed, but it was not possible to get additional funding to deal with the downpipe. I saw the windows. Over €280,000 was spent by the Department on them. They are now rotting away at the side because of the issue with the downpipe.
Some moneys have been allocated in excess of what the school sought. Common sense should prevail here. Acknowledging the number of schools the Department funds throughout the country and the number of applications that are made, I urge that particular priority be given to this school. As I said, it is a DEIS school, which, let us be frank, is different from another school that might be in my constituency and that might be able to take out the biscuit tin and raise some money from parents to ensure that the necessary work is done. CBS Westland Row is simply not in that position. I hope the school will submit an appeal. In light of what the Minister of State said, I think it will do so. I also think that the Department will see sense and will support the school with the additional moneys it has been granted to fix the issue with the downpipe in order to avoid the school being closed or the children not being able to gain access to it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-12