Brian Stanley presses for action on Port Arlington school delay
Brian Stanley raised concerns about a long-delayed new school in Port Arlington, saying the project has been waiting for a decade and a half and the existing school is over capacity. He urged the Minister for Finance to move the approval to tender so the planned 1,300-pupil school can proceed.
Port Arlington is the second biggest town in County Leash and the local school is full to capacity, with a large part of accommodation in prefabs. The catchment extends to Kilnard, Lee, Emo, Ballybrittus, Courtwood, Tofty, Welsh Island and Brackne, and the planned replacement school is designed for 1,300 pupils.
Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Finance to intervene and expedite the move to tender, arguing the Minister for Finance has a key role in ensuring schools are not left waiting for years. He emphasised the educational impact on pupils and the pressures on staff caused by prolonged delays.
In response the Minister said the school building programme has been prioritised in the National Development Plan and that the allocation for the next five years is €7.5 billion, up from €5 billion in the previous five-year plan. The Minister said this increase will allow a significant ramping up of school building delivery and will address special education needs as part of overall provision.
The Minister noted the Department of Education must manage its pipeline within the available allocation and offered to ask the Department to provide a specific note on the timeline for the Port Arlington project. The exchange closed with a commitment to seek more detailed information on when the project can progress to tender.
School delay and local impact
Port Arlington is the second biggest town in County Leash and the local school is full to capacity, with a large part of accommodation in prefabs. The catchment extends to Kilnard, Lee, Emo, Ballybrittus, Courtwood, Tofty, Welsh Island and Brackne, and the planned replacement school is designed for 1,300 pupils.
Demand for Minister for Finance action
Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Finance to intervene and expedite the move to tender, arguing the Minister for Finance has a key role in ensuring schools are not left waiting for years. He emphasised the educational impact on pupils and the pressures on staff caused by prolonged delays.
Government funding and priorities
In response the Minister said the school building programme has been prioritised in the National Development Plan and that the allocation for the next five years is €7.5 billion, up from €5 billion in the previous five-year plan. The Minister said this increase will allow a significant ramping up of school building delivery and will address special education needs as part of overall provision.
Next steps and timeline
The Minister noted the Department of Education must manage its pipeline within the available allocation and offered to ask the Department to provide a specific note on the timeline for the Port Arlington project. The exchange closed with a commitment to seek more detailed information on when the project can progress to tender.
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Transcript
Minister, the programme for Government, page 68, it says in it that the Government will support the school building unit in the timely delivery of school buildings. The school lease gone in Port Arlington has been waiting for a decade and a half now. Port Arlington is the second biggest town in County Leash, and the school is full to capacity. It's a catchment area taken in Kilnard, Lee, Emo, Ballybrittus, Courtwood, and then out in Tofty, Welsh Island and Brackne. There's huge pressure on places, and a large part of the school is in prefabs. There's a new school planned for 1,300 pupils, but this has gone on for a decade and a half, and I'm asking you as Minister for Finance to move this on. They're waiting for approval to go to tender, and will the Government and the Minister for Education now move this on? And yourself as Minister for Finance has a key role in this, because we can't have schools waiting for up to 20 years to try and get new buildings in place. It's important for the education of the children. It's important for the staff that work there as well. Thank you, Deputy Minister. Thanks very much, Deputy Stanley. And what I'd say is, in the engagement which I had with the then Minister of Education, McEntee, and now with Minister Nocton, we have prioritised the school building programme in the National Development Plan. For the next five years, we have a total allocation of €7.5 billion. That's up from €5 billion over the previous five years in the National Development Plan, which was agreed, I think, in 2020 or 2021. That will allow for a significant ramping up of the overall delivery of school buildings and, in addition, the needs in terms of special education, which are critical in terms of overall school provision. Obviously, the Department has to work with the allocation that it has and manage its pipeline in that context, and I can ask the Department of Education to provide a more specific note on the timeline of that particular school. Thank you, Minister.