My first motion at Septembers MD meeting; “That the council provide a report on the process by which the site at Mooreabbey in Monasterevin was selected/approved as the location for the new build for St Paul’s Secondary School; to include details of any complexities in locating the school at this site of which the council were aware during the process, and the reasons why, if any other sites were considered, they were rejected.”

Report Issued by: Mr K Kavanagh, Senior Executive Administrative, Planning and Strategic Development: The acquisition of sites for the construction and development of buildings for educational purposes is a matter for the Department of Education & Skills.

The subject site at Moore Abbey was zoned as E1/E2 Education and Community in the Monasterevin Local Area Plan with a specific objective (E2) to “provide for a new education campus on the site identified within Moore Abbey Demesne”.

In November 2016, the Minister for Education and Skills submitted a planning application for the construction of a post primary school (Saint Paul’s Secondary School), to accommodate c.850 pupils, at Moore Abbey in Monasterevin.

The application went through the standard planning process with the application available for public viewing and comment during the statutory period. It is noted that a number of representations were made by local and national politicians supporting the application.

The application and its accompanying technical reports were analysed and considered by the relevant prescribed bodies and the appropriate service departments within Kildare County Council. A further information (FI) request, mostly on transportation related issues, was subsequently sought from the Department with a response received in May 2017.

Permission for the school was granted in July 2017. The planning permission is subject to forty-six specific conditions, all of which are subject to monitoring by the respective departments for compliance purposes.