School Accommodation
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

As a former teacher and somebody who has been involved with schools both as a teacher, in terms of the construction of a new school in Ballincollig where I was teaching, and as a public representative, the Deputy is right. It is critical that clarity is provided and that we give certainty. As the Deputy said, that clear communication is very much required.
The Department of Education and Youth and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, will continue to work with schools and patrons with regard to the schools building programme and the projects in County Mayo. It is important that we give hope to school communities and the schools. The Deputy was right to raise the issue on the floor of the Dáil. It is a desire we all share, but she outlined it for the pupils in County Mayo. They deserve to have the same level and quality of school build as their peers elsewhere in the country and to be taught in a campus that is modern and fit for purpose.
We can go into some of the issues in terms of the schools. I was in a school yesterday and I wondered how we can still leave it open, despite the fact that the school community is phenomenal. It is a great school. The staff and students are resilient and the education output is phenomenal.
However, it is important that the Department engages and that it explains the process clearly in terms of the projects the Deputy outlined and the progression of stages. It is something that all of us, not just as public representatives but as citizens, deserve. There needs to be greater transparency. I see Deputy McGrath here. We are dealing with some schools projects in Cork. There should be no mystique. If it is good news or bad news, let us have it out there. At least then schools will know where they stand, where they need to be, how they can progress and if there is a vacancy or a complication somewhere else, perhaps they can fit into the slot, get the money spent and get the school built.
The Deputy makes a good point. I thank her for what she is doing. The important point from a Government point of view, and I am not being defensive, is that we are investing billions of euro in capital expenditure in education. We have delivered almost 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller-scale improvement projects since 2020. That does not solve the Deputy's problem, I take that point on board fully, but I look forward taking her views back to the Department. As she said, she is doing it already and I thank her for that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03