108. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education the way she plans to support the school building unit in how it delivers school buildings in a timely manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16806/25]

Sentiment score: 0.23

The Minister might tell us what the plan is to support the school building unit to deliver school buildings and extensions to school buildings in an efficient and timely manner. In my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, there are numerous projects that are taking an extraordinarily long time. Some cases are taking decades. It is essential the Department works collaboratively with principals to deliver our school buildings and extensions quickly, efficiently and as soon as possible to meet the growing demands.

Sentiment score: 0.30

I thank the Minister. I acknowledge that there has been a lot of investment in school buildings. However, my constituency of Dublin Fingal West is one of the youngest constituencies in the country. Balbriggan is the youngest large town in the country. We are rapidly growing. The towns of Rush and Lusk were tiny villages when I was a child but are now full of young and growing families. We are not delivering schools quickly enough. In Rush in particular, three schools have been waiting for decades. We need to see faster delivery. Since I have been elected, I have been on a tour of the constituency to meet all the schools, to understand their challenges and to see the conditions they are working in. Some are working in appalling conditions. They have been delivered extensions of prefabs, which are uninsulated and falling apart. Kids are wearing coats in the classroom and there is damp, mould, unsuitable toilet facilities, etc. We need to make sure the Department is engaging, delivering and working with our principals who are doing their very best. They are not project managers, however.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I thank the Minister. Schools are an investment in our future. We need to move away from patching up prefabs that have been there for ten, 20 or 30 years when they were only intended to be used for a few years. We need to invest in our schools and invest in the future and in our children and teachers, by providing good, accessible, reasonable school accommodation. I would like to see a specific time limit introduced for the Department to respond to principals. A common theme in representations I get from principals is that they are not being responded to in a timely manner. I do not just mean it being a case of weeks or months; in some cases, it can be years. It would be good to see the Department bring forward a specific timeframe in which it will respond to principals and they will no longer be ghosted. I invite the Minister to Rush in Dublin Fingal West to see some of these fantastic schools like St. Joseph's Secondary School and Rush National School. The staff are working in really appalling conditions but still doing a fantastic job.

Sentiment score: 0.27