Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 11 Jun 2026

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I raise the new school building for Coláiste an Phiarsaigh. To be clear, I taught there once upon a time. I was also a former student there for six years, so I have a vested interest in this relatively big school building programme. I am asking for a clear update. It seems to be stuck at the 2b lottery stage, which I know is frustrating for many TDs. A lot of these building projects are frequently stuck in this phase 2b. This is just another example.

This school has a remarkable story. It opened in 1973 with only 20 students and six teachers. It had no building. Classes were held in a rented Church of Ireland premises in the village of Glenmire. They had, in the words of those who were there, neither "cailc nó clár dubh", no chalk or blackboard. From that beginning, it has grown into one of the most successful Irish-medium schools in the country, with nearly 600 students and more than 60 staff. It consistently ranks as one of the best in terms of its academic achievement.

The new building promised for this school is not a modest one. As I said, it is a fairly large extension. It would make Coláiste an Phiarsaigh the largest Gaelscoil in Ireland, with a new sports hall, indoor running track and wellness suite. The students in the school, through the students' council, advocated for it to have a carbon-neutral design, with has been built into the design of the school.

In September 2023, the school community was told that construction would begin within 18 months. That timeline has now passed and families in Glenmire deserve to know why and what the revised position is. Glenmire is one of the fastest growing suburbs in Cork. The demand for Irish-medium education is only going in one direction. The students currently in first year will be sitting their leaving certificate before too long. They should not spend their entire secondary education waiting for a building they were told was imminent.

I am asking for the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, to set out plainly the current stage of this project, when it is anticipated it will go to construction and when the doors of the new school will open. I have been involved with this school building project over the past five years. We have had senior Ministers visit, as well as the Taoiseach, cutting ribbons and launching plans. The expectation is quite high that this will be delivered in a timely manner. I understand the significant difficulties in the Department of education and the overspend. They are glaringly obvious for all of us. That said, big projects like this need to be delivered.

When I attended Coláiste an Phiarsaigh as a student, half the school campus was in prefabs, and some of those very same prefabs are still there today. The Minister of States knows the way this can go. There has been some improvement with other updated modular units over the past few years but the reason they are getting this big project is that half the school footprint is, in essence, modular. This will replace it with bricks and mortar.

This is something that has been long awaited. I genuinely hope that there is something the Minister of State will tell me which will illuminate things for me, although I will be dubious about it. It is high time we were straight with people in Glanmire and set out a timeline for when this project is likely to be delivered.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Timmy Dooley)

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for his continued interest in this matter. It is an issue in which I know he has a personal interest and one on which he has advocated considerably in this House and elsewhere. I thank him for that continued work.

As the Deputy knows, the current position in relation to this major development project in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, County Cork, is the responsibility of the Minister for Education and Youth. She has asked me to outline the current position. The project referred to has been devolved to the joint managerial body for delivery. The project brief for Coláiste an Phiarsaigh provides for a long-term projected enrolment of 750 pupils, including four classrooms for students with special educational needs. That is an important function and part of the overall project, because the Government has a considerable focus on providing appropriate locations for children with special educational needs.

The project is currently at stage 2b of the architectural design process, as the Deputy said. This allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents. Planning permission was granted in November 2025. The Department awaits submission of a stage 2b report. Once received, it will undergo a detailed technical and cost review in line with the Government's infrastructure guidelines. It is clear that the joint managerial body needs to get that stage 2b report to the Department to allow for the next stages along the way.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Department recently published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. The NDP sectoral investment plan involves a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard, there will be a strong special education dimension to project roll-out. That is one of the important facets of the project, so that when it gets through the stage it is at, it will have significant prioritisation in the mix of other schools. Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that circa €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings. This will 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. In this regard, a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027 was published and this included 12 schools in Cork.

The progression of other projects through the pipeline will form part of overall programme management and prioritisation. The timing of a pipeline project moving from one stage to the next requires careful planning and is determined by a number of factors, such as confirmation that any existing or emerging school capacity in the area is being, or will be, optimised; confirmation of compliance with all technical and cost requirements relevant to that project stage; outcome of prioritisation assessment; and timing of affordability within annual NDP funding parameters, taking account of overall programme requirements.

In moving projects forward, the Department maintains a strong focus on delivering value for money and affordability, and includes phasing arrangements, where necessary, to ensure that spending remains sustainable. Functionality, long-term suitability and the specific needs of schools, including special education requirements, are also considered at each stage. This approach ensures that projects not only progress in a timely manner but also deliver maximum value for money and target priorities of the school estate. This prioritisation process will be informed by engagement with school patrons and management bodies, which is currently under way. The project at Coláiste an Phiarsaigh will form part of this overall process.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

Unfortunately, I do not have my date. I get that we have invested an awful lot in infrastructure and education over the last few years. That is undeniable. I was struck by a couple of phrases the Minister of State used, including "affordability" and "value for money". We have all been in this House long enough to know that the longer we wait to do these projects, they more inflated the price becomes given the way the current market is. If we leave this another year, it could easily add another 10%, if not more, to the price of this school. Unfortunately, I think we are going to be waiting much longer than a year, judging by what the statement the Minister of State read out. I get that there is a €700 million overspend in the budget for the Department of education. The Department of public expenditure needs to talk to the Department of education and problems need to be worked through. The Department has to stay within the budget but, at the same time, this is not a problem that just emerged. While it is fair enough that the project only got planning last year, as I said, the prefabs have been there for 25 or 30 years. This build is largely to replace those prefabs.

We have another good story on the site in question. The people who established the school own the land around it. The Minister for the Gaeltacht, Deputy Calleary, is looking at turning an old building into a cultúrlann and have it as a real Irish-language hub in the centre of Glanmire. It would largely meet the needs of the Irish language community in Cork city. A lot of exciting things are happening with this project on this site, but they are all going to be held up because we are waiting for the school. Nothing else can happen until the school has initiated. I can only make the case for my constituency, as we all do here for our constituencies. This school will be the largest Gaelcholáiste in the country when it is built. That is at a time when officials in the Department would tell us that numbers in Gaelscoileanna normally do not exceed 600 or 700. This school could easily cater for 1,200 students, such is the demand.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

The Deputy has made a strong case for this project. I set out, in broad terms, the criteria that apply to all schools and building projects. I set out, in a clear way, the commitment of the Government, from an overall financial envelope available over the next number of years, to complete these projects and how they get assessed. Of course, there are more projects than there is money to address them over the next five years. That is why the prioritisation is part of it, but just because I have set out the prioritisation, it does not necessarily mean the school is not part of that. The first tranche has been announced. What is important now is for those preparing the stage 2b report to get it into the Department.

Knowing the Deputy as long as I do, I know his capacity to advocate. When the report is on the Department's desk, the Deputy will probably be back in the House looking for a further update. Of course, we will provide him with one. I know the Deputy will be advocating through his contacts in the Department as well. At every stage, I encourage the school to get the documentation and report in. I have identified the priorities for the Deputy. The key priority is that it is a Gaelscoil, but the fact that the focus is firmly on the special needs or educational element for children with special needs is a significant part of the overall jigsaw. I suggest that the Deputy emphasise that and continue to advocate. Sooner rather than later, the Department will be, I hope, in a position to move the project to the next stage. There are a number of stages, but every time the project moves on, the school gets closer to that mark. I apologise that I cannot give a timeframe, but it would be foolhardy for anyone to give a guesstimate given that the report is still awaited. I have every expectation that officials will be in touch with the school and that they will move on that.

Water Pollution

Deputy Ged Nash

I appreciate that the Minister of State is here to take this Topical Issue. I have a simple question to put to him. When are people, individuals or corporate bodies, whose actions destroy our rivers and habitats going to see a law change that would see those responsible for the destruction of those habitats possibly face jail? The Minister of State was on the banks of the River Glyde in County Louth last week where he saw some of the remains of the 20,000 dead fish. He spoke to members of the Ardee and Glyde Fishing Development Association and some local representatives, who were pictured with him. He admitted that the fines and sanctions available to the State to prosecute those responsible for polluting our rivers and habitats are inadequate. He said they are "not fit for purpose". I suggest that this is a classic understatement.

This is not news either. From my research over the last few days, I have been looking at some of the issues that have arisen around the country.

In recent years a farmer who was found to be responsible for leaking animal shit, because that is what it is and I am sorry to use the colloquialism, into the River Tracton in Cork, received a conviction and fine of €2,000 in the local District Court in 2022. There were 5,000 fish killed. In the same year, in a case in Monaghan close to where the Minister of State was last week, there was a €400 fine and €5,000 in costs. His infraction was that silage effluent from his farm was found in a watercourse - more shit. I am sorry to use the colloquialism. I would not usually do that but I do not want to beat around the bush. When we describe this as "waste", "effluent" or "discharge", it minimises the impact and the issue.

There were 20,000 fish killed in the River Glyde last week, including Atlantic salmon, eels, brown trout, pikes, minnows and course fish, and 25 km of the finest river in mid-Louth was destroyed. Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, responded rapidly. I spoke to their representatives last week about this and I commend their actions. The Dee and Glyde fishing association does tremendous work. It is a custodian of the river. I have known those people for many years and have worked with them in the past. They have worked hard to protect and maintain the river's ecosystem.

I do not for a minute want to prejudice the outcome of any investigation or any possible prosecution that might arise but we know that in all likelihood in cases like this, it is the provisions of the 1959 Act that are used so those responsible can probably sleep soundly at night. The cases are heard in the District Court. This is, of course, where you will hear shoplifting cases, public order offences and traffic offences but nothing of this scale. History tells us that those who are responsible for major fish kills attract very small fines. They are a pittance.

This is ecocide. That is what it is. It is the mass destruction of habitats and is dangerous to public health. These are matters that ought to be dealt with through our legal code in the Circuit Court, at the very least, or, indeed, the High Court. When will we see changes in the law where the punishment will fit the crime? It has been said to me that in some cases, it is easier for operators to take the fine rather than spend the money they need to spend in order to up their game.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for allowing me to update the House on what has happened. I acknowledge the significance of a very severe fish kill that occurred on the River Glyde and the devastating impact it has had on the local communities, anglers and users of this important river catchment. I want to pay tribute to the angling community and those who use the river for leisure and other activities for the way in which they care for that river. As in many cases around the country, they act as citizen scientists, notifying IFI of various events that happen on the river. In fact, it was an angler who first identified the discharge and the death of fish. IFI reacted very quickly and was on site within about ten minutes. Within about four hours, using kayaks and drones it was able to identify the source of the effluent entering the river and end the discharge. Were it not for the fast action of all concerned the situation could have been far worse. That is not at all to undermine the damage that was done to the ecosystem of the river but I want to identify and thank people for that. We estimate that around 20,000 fish have been lost, including Atlantic salmon, eels, brown trout, pike, minnow and coarse fish species. That, of course, will have a devastating impact on the people who use the river but also on the ecology of the area.

The Deputy rightly asked what the next step is. The investigation is ongoing and IFI is putting together the details of what has happened and will prepare a file that will go to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, and then a decision will be taken on whether or not to prosecute based on the evidence that has been procured. The Deputy raised an important issue in reference to the comments I made. I do not believe, quite frankly, the punishment, fines or the way the process is structured is in any way commensurate with the damage that is done. Therefore, I do not think it acts as a sufficient deterrent.

Often in a case like this it could be a licensed operator. I am speaking in general terms because I do not want to get into the specifics as I am conscious there may be a prosecution at some point. There can be a licensed entity, usually a commercial entity that has a licence to discharge into a particular body of water. The licence is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. I think that at times the reissuance of licences should not be done - the continued issuance of a licence where there have been breaches. I have said this to the EPA and asked it to give me its views on what the fines structure should be. I have my own views but I must follow the professional advice and I await that determination.

Last year, soon after taking on this role with responsibility for inland fisheries, an event happened on the River Blackwater which again had devastating consequences. At the time, I asked both the EPA and IFI to look at the body of law that is there, to look at the fines and to come forward with suggestions. I await that information and will certainly move as quickly as I can as soon as I get it because the Deputy is right, in that I do not think it acts as a deterrent.

The Deputy is right in saying that sometimes it is wilful neglect because the fine is not serious enough to prevent accidents. Sometimes it is wilful destruction where somebody chooses to do this where, as the Deputy said, rather than investing, it is easier to breach and be fined and not be impacted. We have to elevate the fines and the punishment to a level in order that people take heed of the necessity to protect our rivers and waterways.

Deputy Ged Nash

I thank the Minister of State for his response and I eagerly await the evolution of the process he has outlined. This is not a new issue. My colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, did a lot of work to raise awareness of the mass fish kill in the Blackwater last year and of the lacuna in the law at the moment in terms of the requirement for the sorts of sanctions that would be commensurate with a violation of the nature of what happened in the Blackwater. Similarly, the same perspective can be applied to this particular matter on the River Glyde in County Louth.

I am not aware of any case where an EPA licence was in place and was removed from somebody who was successfully prosecuted in the District Court or anywhere else for actions that led to a mass fish kill and ecological destruction in an area. We need to reflect on that. That is simply not good enough in this day and age. It was never good enough and it is certainly not good enough now. I would have particular words for any vested interest that stands in the way of us improving and enhancing this legislation and the sanctions available to the State to address these issues.

It is interesting that there is an EU directive in place, 2024/1203 and that there is a criminal law element to but that we have decided not to transpose it. It deals with the question of ecocide and provides for, for example, eight years imprisonment for what is described as natural persons who may be involved in or found guilty of major habitat destruction. We have decided not to transpose that directive for a variety of reasons. We need to reflect on that if we are serious about ensuring the punishment fits the crime, if we can use the word "crime", in broad cases of this nature.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. I know Deputy Eoghan Kenny and other Members of this House were centrally involved in the Blackwater issue. As referenced, I cannot recount if a licence was ever removed. I know licences have been suspended in cases and it may be that there is a difficulty from the EPA's perspective on how it might do that. Maybe that does require to be codified better in the law. The lessons learned from the Blackwater fish kill continue to inform Government policy and are certainly guiding me. We did a review among the agencies involved but then we got an independent review undertaken by the European Commission's joint research centre and it identified some practical recommendations to strengthen prevention, detection and inter-agency co-ordination in responding to fish kill incidents.

Those recommendations are now being implemented alongside the modernisation of inland fisheries legislation to strengthen enforcement powers and ensure penalties provide an effective deterrent against environmental pollution. We are on a pathway to update the legislation and I look forward to the engagement of Deputy Nash and others in the House when we bring it to Committee Stage or on pre-legislative scrutiny, when there will be an opportunity for all to get involved.

I acknowledge the work of IFI, the local authorities and the many volunteers and community members, including the Dee and Glyde Fishing Development Association, who have responded to the incident. The Government remains committed to supporting the recovery of the River Glyde and to promoting Ireland's rivers for future generations. The overarching point here is that this cannot be done in isolation. We have to make the penalty and fines structure suitable for and commensurate with the damage that is ultimately being done. We mitigate the risks. Accidents do happen, for sure, but we have to ensure a lot more mitigation is taken because there is a lack of understanding of how important our rivers and oceans are from a biodiversity and climate change perspective.

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue. I will talk specifically about a school but a school that illustrates a broader problem. I will refer to one school but I am referring to a broader issue with the school summer programme. There was a delay, and the Minister of State is aware of this, in releasing the programme. Only in the past few weeks have schools been able to apply. I will speak about Gaelscoil Baile Brigín. It applied for two special classes and three mainstream classes, which is what it had applied for previously. Previously it had four mainstream groups with six students. This year it applied for three groups of 12 because that was what was in the guidelines.

The Department has said there must be at least 12 students in each group, with only one SNA and one teacher. This is a problem from the get-go because that will not be enough staff. This is a big increase in the number of students without any allowance for a reduction in group size or for students with complex needs. Additional staff are not being made available for students who have additional needs and who are accommodated for those needs. That does not make any sense because these are kids who have an SNA in their classroom every single day. Their needs do not change. Just because it is the summer, their needs do not change and they certainly do not decrease at any particular time in the calendar. If they are entitled to an SNA, they should have one. At the very least, they should have something that is similar.

The school has raised issues. It applied for three groups but was only sanctioned for two. This leaves the school community, the principal, the deputy principal and the staff in an awful position because they have to go back to parents and tell them that for reasons they do not know, they are not able to accommodate their kids. It is a horrible decision for the school community to have to make. Nobody wants to make lists when everyone on the list has a need and should have an entitlement to access the programme. The school now has to cut students from the programme, which is really awful.

What did the school do? It certainly did not sit around and do nothing. It made massive efforts to contact the Department by email and phone. It has not had any response. I get it because changes are being made, and I understand the Department is busy and under pressure. This is not meant to be disrespectful to the people who are answering the phones, who I know are doing their best. Unfortunately, the school cannot get an answer so now it has to speak to the parents of the children who possibly will not be able to be accommodated. When the parents ask why this is happening the school does not know because nobody will tell it. I sincerely hope these changes, which the Minister of State might try to dress up as some class of reform, are not being driven by the massive overspend in the Department, which I can tell him is not the fault of any of the parents or the teachers.

I am looking for a few very simple things. Will the Minister of State get me an explanation as to why Gaelscoil Baile Brigín and other schools were only sanctioned a reduced number of classes? Will he convey to the Minister the frustration of the teaching community at this last-minute decision-making? Months and months of planning go into getting ready for this. Will he explain why the changes are being brought in? If they are being driven by money, then he needs to tell us. Will he please ask the Department to reply to Gaelscoil Baile Brigín and those other schools waiting on answers? Will he confirm that home-based tuition will be available for the children who are going to be inevitably left out? Will he advise why there is no appeal? Will he clarify the number of SNAs that will be available per class?

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I thank Deputy O'Reilly very much for her series of questions. I know her interest in this area and she has been a strong advocate, not just for specific schools in her area but also for the educational needs of children.

The Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the programme for Government makes several commitments to deliver on this objective. The summer programme is a vital and targeted intervention that is specifically designed for children with complex special educational needs or those at risk of educational disadvantage. While it is delivered during the summer months, it is an educational programme and should not be viewed as a replacement for recreational summer camps. Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated the programme annually. Its findings consistently highlight the programme's positive impact on the many children and young people who have taken part, with parents, staff and the children themselves reporting improvements in confidence, attitude and readiness to return to school in September.

Deputy O'Reilly has asked a series of questions. I do not have all of the answers but I will ask the Department to communicate directly with her and the school on the specifics and I will speak on the general point.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

That is fair enough. I thank the Minister of State.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

The original intention and the continued emphasis of the summer programme is to mitigate the impact of learning loss on those children while schools are closed. An increase in special educational needs prevalence rates, particularly of autism, and the presentation of children with more complex needs has meant that the summer programme is more important than ever.

Details of the summer programme were communicated to schools and stakeholders in early May. While it is acknowledged that the details of the programme are typically announced earlier, the Department continually kept in touch with stakeholders querying when the summer programme might be announced to ensure they understood that it would be forthcoming and that schools should start their preparations. As a result, the online application portals for both the school-based and the home-based programmes were opened from 6 May to 15 May. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, listened to the concerns of schools that wanted to apply after the deadline, and the application portals were reopened from 2 to 5 June. Details on this reopening were communicated to all schools on Thursday, 29 May 2026.

The summer programme has been well established for several years, so even though there was a shorter window for applications, schools were prepared in advance. The Department subsequently received more applications for the school-based scheme this year than were run in 2025, with increases across primary, post-primary and special schools. In addition, the number of home-based applications has significantly increased on last year.

Officials in the Department have been engaging with schools on an individual basis in relation to the running of their summer programme. Schools have now received their sanction letters with their staffing allocation. This allocation is based on the number of children who are taking part in accordance with the published terms and conditions of the programme. Schools can engage with the Department if they have unique circumstances that require additional resources, and the Department will work with these schools on an individual basis to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children taking part. I believe this is what Deputy O'Reilly is asking, with regard to having a child-centric approach.

Equally, it is acknowledged that there are some children with complex special educational needs whose school is not running a school-based programme or a place on the school-based programme is not available. In this instance, these children can avail of the home-based provision which allows for tuition or care support to be provided on a one-to-one basis or in a small group setting. I hope this response outlines the general position to some extent. We will certainly try to ensure the Department comes back to Deputy O'Reilly with greater detail.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

That would be very welcome. The Minister of State said, and we agree on this, that the programme has a positive impact on the many children and young people who have taken part, and that parents, staff and the children themselves report improvements in confidence, attitude and readiness to return to school in September. There is nothing wrong with that. It is fantastic and a sign of something that is working. It is very natural and normal that I would come in the House and say, on behalf of my constituents, that if we all agree something is a good idea, that it should be happening and that there is a benefit for the children and the school community, then I have to circle back to my original question on why it is being cut. Why are there going to be kids who are attending Gaelscoil Baile Brigín who will be told, although I hope not because I hope when the Department looks at it that it will change it, that they may not have a place?

They may not, though, have a place, when the Minister of State himself acknowledged that this is a programme that works. It is a decent programme that the kids and the school community benefit from. It should not be this hard for the teachers and the school community to be able to access something where there is no disagreement. The Department says it is a good idea. The teachers say it is a good idea. The parents say it is a good idea. The kids clearly benefit from it. When all of these things come together, then I am left asking: why I am standing here asking for this to work when it has worked previously?

I have given a list of detailed questions. It was not my intention to blindside the Minister of State with them, but I hope that he will bring these to the attention of the Minister and get some answers not just for the school but also for the parents and the students. It is very hard to have to tell the students that they may not be accepted for the programme when they previously benefited from it. I do not want the school community, teachers, principal and deputy principals to be put into that position, and I am sure the Minister of State does not either.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I thank the Deputy very much. As I indicated, there has been a significant increase in demand for both school-based and home-based tuition during those months. From a departmental perspective, it does take a little bit of time to iron out all of that. I will ask the Department to communicate directly on his specific questions and that, perhaps, there be a level of engagement between it and the school so that the school does not have to be at loggerheads or not have all the information available to it that it would need to take whatever actions it has to in the coming months. If that flow of information does not happen, I ask the Deputy to come back to me and I will be happy to follow through on it for her.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Go raibh maith agat.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 11 Jun 2026