Ireland's greatest asset is us. It is our people - our hard-working, skilled and educated women and men. For this country to continue to prosper, we must invest in us for the future, which means investing in our educational system. Fingal, as the Tánaiste knows, is rapidly growing. It is the youngest area in the State. We are delivering homes in Rush, Lusk, Skerries and Balbriggan but this housing delivery has to be matched by delivery of appropriate school places in safe, warm and modern buildings. Schools are at the heart of our communities. They are where our children learn, families connect local life is built. When school infrastructure falls behind, entire communities are also left behind. I want to raise two capital projects that are very close to my heart for the communities of Skerries and Rush. I am determined to see both of those projects delivered. The first is in Skerries, my home town. Skerries is its own town planning area with six feeder primary schools. At primary level, there are currently four special classes, with two more under construction. However, there are no special classes at post-primary level in the only second secondary school in the town, my old school, Skerries Community College. Families are being forced to travel long distances outside their communities to access appropriate places but too many others are facing the prospect of having no suitable school places for September 2026. That is simply not acceptable. That undermines inclusion, places a huge strain on families and weakens community life. Urgently delivering dedicated special education provision at post-primary level in Skerries is a necessity. Second, the population of Rush has grown by over 60% in the past 20 years. It continues to rapidly expand. The building project for a combined campus for two excellent schools, St. Joseph's Secondary School and Gaelscoil Ros Eo, is now approaching submission to the Department for approval to tender. Once that application is lodged, the community needs a very swift and positive response from the Department. This urgent action is not only needed for the students and parents but for the principals, the school faculties and the support staff who are working in appalling conditions. Both schools regularly flood, leading to damp rooms and teachers mopping them out for hours before children arrive at the campus. Gaelscoil Ros Eo is in prefabs in the car park of a Gaelic club for nearly two decades so this campus project is critical, not least for the community but also to deliver more homes in Rush. There is a planning application for 48 homes on the site of the secondary school, which cannot progress until the school is built. Could the Tánaiste please give me an update as to the status of both these projects, and a commitment to work with me and the Ministers for education and public expenditure to make sure these projects are urgently delivered?

Sentiment score: 0.17

I thank the Tánaiste. I appreciate his really constructive engagement. I know delivering schools is as important to him as it is to me. I thank him for also mentioning Rush National School, which is something I have raised with the Minister for Education and Youth. I will continue to raise it with her and the Tánaiste. I look forward to welcoming the Tánaiste in the coming years to the opening of both of these school projects. As he will be aware, I will continue to raise these repeatedly with him until I see the shovels in the ground.

Sentiment score: 0.30