St. Aidan's CBS Whitehall first opened in 1964 and is part of the very fabric of our community. It has provided an excellent education for generations of boys from around Whitehall, Glasnevin and Ballymun. Over the years, substantial amounts of money have been spent on maintaining the school buildings and 60-year-old prefabs. The demand for secondary school places and applications for admission to St. Aidan's are high and the school is always hugely oversubscribed. There are two phases to the proposed new development. The first phase will be the construction of the new, modern school into which the students will decamp from the old, dilapidated prefabs. The second phase will be the removal of the old prefabs and the building of much-needed ASD units, which will include a sensory room as well as special educational needs classrooms. The project was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála on 24 February 2025. However, the school, the parents and the community are dismayed that, to date, St. Aidan's is not listed among the 105 projects specifically highlighted as moving to tender and construction by 2026 and 2027 in the first tranche of the 2026 NDP roll-out. This oversight needs to be addressed, and St. Aidan's should be included on the NDP priority list.

Sentiment score: 0.10

I understand the Minister, Deputy Naughton, is not here to take this really important issue. I appreciate the Minister of State taking it. I hope this does not lessen what we are saying and what we are looking for. The urgency of this and of prioritising it is crucial to the people in the area and to the school itself. They have done tremendous work on this. Everything is in place and ready to go. We need a commitment. I know the Minister of State said there might be a possibility of some other schools being included. We are urging that they be included as soon as possible to get this moving forward.

Sentiment score: 0.21