109. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education to report on the progress of the capital build project of a school (details supplied). [17155/25]

Sentiment score: 0.14

I ask the Minister for an update on the progress on the capital build project for St. Brigids Girls School, Cabinteely. I recently met the school principal. After a conversation with her about their building project, I followed up with the Department. Following this, the school received a very positive update from the Department. I would like to get the latest update. This is a significant project for the school, which has been working on it for a number of years. It is very important to the school and the school community's future.

Sentiment score: 0.28

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I can tell from it that it is quite a complex project. It started and then it had to be amended, and we are now at the redesign stage. The school authorities informed me that they have the design sketched out and they will be able to follow up with that. I appreciate that the Department is dealing with a significant number of projects. Some 1,300 school building projects have been completed, as the Minister said, since 2020. One of those included Gaelscoil Laighean. I recall that we were looking for a location in June 2022 and the school opened in September 2023, so a lot of projects are being expedited very quickly. This is another school I have been talking to recently about issues. One of the issues that comes up as a theme in my discussions with all schools - because I am trying to visit as many schools in my constituency as I can - is that of waiting for updates from the Department on these complex projects. I ask the Minister to consider working with her officials to come up with some mechanism to increase the level of transparency around project development. Sometimes schools can be waiting months or even years. It would be very helpful for the schools if there were some sort of ongoing communication format.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I thank the Minister for acknowledging the issue about the transparency and the communication pieces between the Department and the schools. School principals are very busy and it is beyond the job description to also be a building project manager. I draw another issue to the Minister's attention. As we are engaging on building projects, one of the issues that is coming up is the lack of play space in that some of it is being taken over while a new extension or new area is being built. Will the Minister look at building projects to ensure an alternative play space is provided if the existing play space is being taken away?

Sentiment score: 0.29