Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an Saincheist Tráthúil a chur os comhair an Tí maidir le cursaí oideachais i gContae Mhaigh Eo. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of schools and the various stages they are at in the Department of education in County Mayo. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for education. She apologises for not being able to be here. The Deputy highlighted a number of schools. I have made a list of them that I will refer back to the Department for the Deputy. She is right. Schools need certainty to plan for the future and that is the fundamental that we should all adhere to. The Department provides details of all live and completed projects. Information for ASA in schools in County Mayo is available on the Department’s website and further engagement is being made available. Since 2010, a total of €37.12 million in capital funding has been provided for ASA projects in County Mayo. There are currently 27 ASA projects at preliminary design stage, 21 projects at detailed design, one project at tender stage and 11 projects on site at construction stage. In addition, 42 ASA projects have been completed since 2020. As the Deputy will know, the Department recently published the NDP - she referenced in terms of the number of schools not included - for the period from 2026 to 2030. This NDP sectoral plan places an emphasis on maximising existing capacity and the prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. It is fair to say that in this context, the emphasis on special education roll-out is being applied. Of the total €7.5 billion investment, it is envisaged that around €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the large scale, additional accommodation, modular, and annual September accommodation needs programmes. Over the course of this year and next year, there will be construction work at around 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide an additional 57,000 modernised school places with a strong special education needs focus in all projects. The Department will continue to lead and to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued roll-out of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. As I have said and the Deputy knows well, the Minister has published a list of the 105 school building projects that have been announced. In terms of the issues raised by Deputy Keogh, clarity has been provided to schools on annual December to January payment period for minor works and ICT grants to schools. The minor works grants for the 2026-27 school year were issued in December and the ICT grants were issued in January. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, is also commencing arrangements for increasing minor works funding at primary level and introducing minor works funding at post-primary level. Investment under the plan will also involve the delivery of 297 projects under the climate action summer works scheme. This includes 16 projects in County Mayo. The Department will continue to engage with patrons and schools in County Mayo and across the country to inform the progression of projects across the capital programme. I know there are schools on the list the Deputy read out that have not been allocated funding. Even though they have not been included in the first tranche of the prioritised projects, it is important that they engage and that we, as a Government and a Department, engage with the Deputy on the individual projects to see where they are in terms of that pipeline. She raised an important point on the status of projects, the information needed and the clarity needed for school communities and parents associations. In this context the Department will fund and invest in school communities where appropriate. I will bring the list that the Deputy outlined here back to the Department and I thank her for raising the matter.

Sentiment score: 0.23

As a former teacher and somebody who has been involved with schools both as a teacher, in terms of the construction of a new school in Ballincollig where I was teaching, and as a public representative, the Deputy is right. It is critical that clarity is provided and that we give certainty. As the Deputy said, that clear communication is very much required. The Department of Education and Youth and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, will continue to work with schools and patrons with regard to the schools building programme and the projects in County Mayo. It is important that we give hope to school communities and the schools. The Deputy was right to raise the issue on the floor of the Dáil. It is a desire we all share, but she outlined it for the pupils in County Mayo. They deserve to have the same level and quality of school build as their peers elsewhere in the country and to be taught in a campus that is modern and fit for purpose. We can go into some of the issues in terms of the schools. I was in a school yesterday and I wondered how we can still leave it open, despite the fact that the school community is phenomenal. It is a great school. The staff and students are resilient and the education output is phenomenal. However, it is important that the Department engages and that it explains the process clearly in terms of the projects the Deputy outlined and the progression of stages. It is something that all of us, not just as public representatives but as citizens, deserve. There needs to be greater transparency. I see Deputy McGrath here. We are dealing with some schools projects in Cork. There should be no mystique. If it is good news or bad news, let us have it out there. At least then schools will know where they stand, where they need to be, how they can progress and if there is a vacancy or a complication somewhere else, perhaps they can fit into the slot, get the money spent and get the school built. The Deputy makes a good point. I thank her for what she is doing. The important point from a Government point of view, and I am not being defensive, is that we are investing billions of euro in capital expenditure in education. We have delivered almost 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller-scale improvement projects since 2020. That does not solve the Deputy's problem, I take that point on board fully, but I look forward taking her views back to the Department. As she said, she is doing it already and I thank her for that.

Sentiment score: 0.21

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta McGrath as ucht an rúin a chur roimh an Teach. I have prepared remarks but in many ways they have been made redundant by what he outlined, because is right. Both of us agree. We have listened to the views of the Cork Development Forum, Cork Business Association and Cork Chamber of Commerce. We were both at the Future Cork event last Friday, where an Taoiseach spoke on the panel about the significant transport projects in Cork. The Government has committed to delivery of the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy. It is important to recognise in the House that it is an exciting time for public transport in Cork. Deputy McGrath and I share the view that there needs to be delivery of the plan for the integrated transport network that enables the metropolitan area of Cork to grow and develop and that also sees the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy delivered. The fundamental point is that the NTA has already established an office in Cork city, on Horgan's Quay, but the office must be manned on a full-time basis for the delivery of the metropolitan area transport strategy. We have seen the Irish Rail projects and the success that AJ Cronin has brought to the development of infrastructure and rail. I concur completely with Deputy McGrath that this office needs to be expedited, manned in Cork and delivered. It needs to be accountable for the delivery of Bus Connects, the Cork area commuter rail, Cork light rail, the Luas and the active travel programme. I apologise that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, cannot be here tonight. I am taking this Topical Issue for him. We have seen various iterations of BusConnects. I will not read out the prepared remarks because Deputy McGrath knows as well as I do that this needs to be fast-tracked. It is taking far too long. It would bring a huge benefit to Cork. We see the N40 congested every day. I was in Carrigaline yesterday. It was like being in downtown New York, with the volume of traffic on the N28. It was extraordinary. Deputy McGrath mentioned the sustainable transport corridors and active travel, including provision of bus lanes and cycle lanes. We need to continue with that. We have made huge progress in Cork, as the Deputy said, with commuter rail. We have delivered huge numbers of people. There is a new through platform at Kent Station and resignalling work, and the works from Glounthaune to Midleton, and on to Mallow in the Deputy's area, are phenomenal. It is important that we continue with that. The point the Deputy made about the airport is absolutely correct. I share his view that the airport has been forgotten with regard to the provision of rail but, more pertinently and immediately, the provision of bus access to the airport. It beggars belief that Cork Airport does not have public buses to it, in particular in the mornings to get staff, customers and passengers to the airport. I cannot understand how Bus Éireann cannot sit down with TII, the NTA, the airport, and local authorities to address that. I thank Deputy McGrath for raising the matter. He knows, as I do, that this a need that will see projects delivered. It is beneficial for Cork. I thank him for his support for this project. It is critical that we progress it.

Sentiment score: 0.21

I assure Deputy McGrath that I, as Minister of State at the Department of Transport, working with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, want to see the projects that we speak about delivered. Delivery is critical. These projects cannot be managed remotely. There has to be a beefed-up office in Cork delivering in the city. Accountability, engagement and empowerment, which the Deputy spoke about, are needed. It is important that we deliver because that is what we will be judged on. The people of Cork deserve to have the projects we are speaking about delivered on time and on budget. As an aside, we should look at how we can use the critical infrastructure Bill as an exemplar to deliver the Cork Luas project. The Government is committed to progressing the different projects we discussed. We have already highlighted and articulated the progress that has been made. The proof is in the Cork area commuter rail programme, under the stewardship of AJ Cronin, and how it is being progressed and delivered. I thank Deputy McGrath for his support and advocacy around that. It is the model that can bring about and unlock the other projects he spoke about. I share Deputy McGrath's annoyance and frustration in terms of the airport. He has been articulating that for a while to be fair to him. I cannot comprehend the lack of joined-up thinking by Bus Éireann in terms of being able to deliver this. As the Deputy rightly said, a number of workers and passengers could use that. There is a bus coming to Cork from Waterford that stops at the bus depot that could go to the airport, for example, but it does not. Where there is a will, there is a way. From a Government point of view, we have to deliver. I thank Deputy McGrath for being a strong supporter of the projects. I look forward to working with him to ensure we see those projects being delivered in our lifetime in this Dáil.

Sentiment score: 0.14