asked the Minister for Education what is the present position with regard to the proposal to erect a vocational school at Crossmolina, County Mayo; whether he is aware (a) that, because of the Bord na Móna activity nearby, this school is urgently needed, (b) that suitable sites are available, (c) that Bord na Móna would welcome the school by reason of its proximity and consequent saving in travelling expenses to Ballina for apprentices, and (d) that the proposed school at Crossmolina, when in operation, will limit the proposed extension now contemplated at Ballina Vocational school; and, if so, if he will have the work expedited.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Mayo Vocational School.
County Mayo Vocational Education Committee has adopted a rather extensive programme for the provision of new technical schools in its area, including Ballinrobe, Claremorris, Crossmolina, Kiltimagh and other smaller centres, and for the extension of existing schools in Ballina and Westport. I am not in a position at the moment to say that any one of these projects is more urgent than another, or that Crossmolina should be given priority on account of the activities of Bord na Móna in the neighbourhood of that centre. These are matters for decision in the first instance by County Mayo Vocational Education Committee. Crossmolina is, however, one of the centres in which sites are being sought by the committee at present, but there was no response to a recent advertisement for a site there.
I am advised that the provision of a school in Crossmolina is unlikely to have any material effect on the amount of accommodation required in the school in Ballina.