School Accommodation
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-07
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Aindrias Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that the permanent building project is progressing. There is quite a bit of work to do on that. The difficulty remains in the here and now. The fundamental question is where these children will be accommodated while everybody is waiting for that building to be put in place. The school has already stretched every available space in the existing building and nobody could reasonably say the board has not done everything possible to make things work. Enrolment in the school is not levelling off; it is continuing to increase. We have seen substantial growth in recent years, new homes occupied in Cnoc Eoin and Vicar's Glebe, a further 26 under construction and nearing completion in Ceann Scríbe, and additional homes planned. The infrastructure is there, with the wastewater treatment plant, to support further growth. Everything is pointing in the direction of further population growth and demand for school places.
An off-site solution would be really difficult. The area around the school in Coachford already faces challenges around traffic, parking and pedestrian access. Splitting classes across locations would create additional difficulties for families, pupils and staff. A prefab classroom on the school grounds is a practical, sensible and proven solution. It keeps the school community together, provides safe accommodation and bridges the gap until the permanent extension is developed. The Department has already recognised the need for additional teachers. I ask that it recognise the need for accommodation of those teachers and the children. I urge the Minister of State to engage with the school and seek a workable interim solution before it becomes a bigger problem for the community. The children are enrolled and the teachers are approved, but the accommodation still is not there.

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