Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am aware the Minister, Deputy Naughton, cannot be here tonight and has indicated the same. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will pass on my sentiments. I know he will have a prepared statement from the Minister. I will provide context for the Minister of State and to put it on the record. St. Mary's Boys' National School is a popular primary school in the old Lucan area with over 500 students. It was initially a small, traditional-type school and then in the 1970s they built a three-storey building. I attended that school, as did my son, so I am hugely familiar with it. It is down in a valley. It is antiquated in some ways, though they have had a couple of modular buildings added onto it. It is the envy of many other schools because of the playing pitch it has. This is a huge amenity. During Covid, anyone within 2 km was down on that pitch. Kids were running around, keeping their distance. One of the local GAA clubs uses the ball wall and the pitches regularly. Cumann na mBunscol matches are on. There are many amenities on the site when it is not raining. The school community has been hugely welcoming in terms of trying to get the two modular buildings for children with autism spectrum disorder, ASD. The issue is the discussions with the Department have not gone the way the school anticipated. It is on a very sensitive site because it is beside the special amenity area for the Liffey Valley. It is a flood risk of close to one in 1,000 years but it is a walled school which has its own natural safety features. The design of any type of building could keep flood risks at bay. The school's preferred option was at the back of the school in the tarmac part of the yard so it could keep the ball wall and the pitch. The Department came back and suggested an alternative site. It wants to eat into the grass pitch. The school suggested the two modular units be located close to an existing prefab in need of refurbishment. At a meeting with the school, the Department said the application to refurbish this other building is totally separate; however, there is a synergy involved because it is putting all the children in one area and providing access to the amenities in one location. There are many benefits to that. Crucially, it does not go onto the pitch. That is the nub of the issue. We have had discussions. There was an online meeting with the Department on 6 February. It did not go the way the school had hoped. It had done a consultant's report last summer and put in proposals. At the meeting, the Department basically said the other application is not a priority and the only priority is the two modular buildings that have been sanctioned. The Department gave the board until last Friday to confirm whether it consents and stated that if the school disagrees with the proposal, it will have to talk to the patron and consider taking legal action. That is a very negative way to deal with a school that is only trying to look after the health, safety and well-being of all its more than 500 pupils. Surely, we need a solution that works for everyone, to keep at it until we find something and not to get rid of that pitch.

Sentiment score: 0.09

As I said, I know the area very well. The consultants for the school pointed out that the entire site is within the riparian corridor. What the Department of education is proposing and what the school proposed are both within that. That, therefore, cannot be used as a viable excuse for not looking at an alternate site. The school is worried that the three ASD classes will be disjointed if two are at the front of the school and one is at the rear. Basically, in the context of value for money, money is being thrown down the drain for works that will be required down the line, possibly at greater cost, if this is not looked at now. There are two separate things to look at in this regard. First, it is common sense to have the three buildings conjoined and the works carried out in a cost-effective way. Notwithstanding that, it is equally important that green space should not be built on. The response that there will still be green space does not take away from the fact that the pitch will be gone for those junior kids. There is not enough green space left for a junior-size GAA, rugby or soccer match if that is eaten into. A lot of schools in the Lucan area do not even have a pitch, but taking this space away to make it like every other school is not the way to treat a school community. That is a huge resource and, with a little bit of joined-up thinking, we could still get the modular buildings in. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider this from a cost-effectiveness point of view and build these three units together holistically. Separately, the Department should go back to the drawing board and have further discussions because some of the arguments being used do not wash when they are added up. Ultimately, we are looking out for the best interests of the children, both those going into the ASD classes and the 500-plus students who use the existing amenity.

Sentiment score: 0.13