I have raised many Topical Issue matters and very rarely is the line Minister here for them so I thank her for that. St. Farnan's Post Primary School in Prosperous is the only post-primary school in that community. The work undertaken at this school under the stewardship of Mr. Andrew Purcell is nothing short of exemplary but the conditions in which people have to work, learn and develop are simply substandard. The people of Prosperous and north-west Kildare have been led down the garden path about a proposed new school for over ten years. In 2025, news was released that the school had gone to tender stage. In 2023, the Department had officially approved the plans and designs for stage 2A of a 1,000-pupil school but it was as far back as 2015 when the then Minister Jan O’Sullivan made an announcement that St. Farnan’s was on a list for extensions. This school and this community have been promised this for an awfully long time. Nearly two generations of students have been told that by the time they finish, the new school will be here. Now the population in Prosperous and the communities this school serves, which goes far beyond into Allenwood, Coill Dubh and other places, have nearly given up hope on this. They hope that one day they will see this new school, but we are talking about the really young siblings. It is coming to the point where it will be the next generation before we will see the turning of the sod on this. I am reluctant to get too much into the details of the temporary piece. There has been significant investment by the Department in temporary accommodation at this site and that is to be welcomed, but back in August, four classrooms were allocated and none of those have yet been handed over to the school. That is the kind of delay this school has experienced, yet it took in all the students who were enrolled on the basis it would have those four classrooms. Issues like that show the problems with the short-term fix to what is a much more long-term need for a sustainable capital project. This is, as the Minister knows, one of 290 projects on the list. Of those, 20 are in Kildare. We are having this conversation in a context where County Kildare’s population has doubled since the early 1990s to nearly 250,000 people. When we see housing coming without the development of services and infrastructure, issues like this will arise. I could be talking about school issues in Clane, Brannockstown, Naas, Maynooth or Celbridge. I am not just listing off towns as these are legitimate concerns schools such as Scoil Mochua and Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad have. Capital is what we need. Investment is what we need. There have been six Ministers since Jan O’Sullivan made that announcement about St. Farnan’s back in 2015. We are really hoping the Minister, Deputy Naughton, can be the one who makes the project happen. What we need are the services and the investment. I am putting it to the Minister that we are just about there now and that the last push is needed for St. Farnan’s and Prosperous. I hope this Government will be the one that gets it over the line.

Sentiment score: 0.16

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive reply. I am trying to read between the lines as to what that will mean for St. Farnan's specifically where the implementation plan is concerned. We need this. The community needs this. I accept Deputies throughout the House will be saying the exact same thing to her about various projects in their community but we are ten years on with St. Farnan's and this project will have a monumental impact on the communities this school serves in areas of deprivation and poverty. The Minister mentioned the special education services provided but she would have to see it to believe what this school is doing with such limited resources. I appeal to her that if and when this comes to her for decision, she will ensure St. Farnan's is on the list. She will be in Kildare tomorrow visiting schools. She could extend that visit by 20 minutes. She will be very close to St. Farnan's. If she could come by tomorrow and take a look around, she would very quickly believe this school deserves the investment we are talking about.

Sentiment score: 0.01