Schools Building Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-01
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Séamus McGrath (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Minister of State. I want to put on the record my appreciation for the Minister of State taking the time to visit the school. He visited Shanbally National School and heard about Ringaskiddy national school and the conditions there, and about how critical this project was.
I want to be absolutely clear about the land and I can furnish documentation to the Minister of State. A response from a senior person in Cork County Council states that, while finalisation of the acquisition is taking place and in advance of the formal transfer of land subject to section 183, Cork County Council will support any planning application submitted in respect of the new school and will also provide a letter of consent to accompany the planning submission at the appropriate time. There is no reason whatsoever that the land issue should cause any delay.
I notice from the reply this evening, which is deeply disappointing, that we do not appear to have progressed in the tender process since December last year. It is the exact same update, stating that the project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023 and was in the process of preparing documentation for the tender process for the appointment of an integrated project team. That is the exact same language as in the reply I received in December 2025. This is deeply frustrating and it is very difficult for me as a public representative to go back to the communities, principals, parents and teaching staff and say that this project has not moved forward. I do not want to be disingenuous, and I hope work is progressing on the tender process, but the reply seems to be the exact same, which is very frustrating.
To reiterate, the project is vital for these two school communities. The conditions they operate in at present are not acceptable. It has been promised for many years. This project has been in the pipeline for in excess of 15 years. There was an issue with the original site not being available because of the motorway project, which was facilitated. I plead with the Minister of State to go back to the Department and ensure that we progress the project once and for all and that the school communities - students, parents, families, teaching staff, principals and everyone else - have buildings that are suitable for the educational requirements of these children.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-01