Vol. 189 No. 3
andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Education whether he has received a copy of a resolution passed recently by the Federation of Catholic Lay Secondary Schools in regard to the private disposal of State-owned preparatory colleges; and whether he will make a statement on the matter.
46.
andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Education (1) the number of preparatory colleges in the country, (2) whether any of these colleges have been transferred from his Department's jurisdiction recently, and, if so, how many, (3) whether their disposal was made by public tender, and, if not, why, (4) to whom they were transferred or sold, (5) the sale or letting price of each, (6) the dates and cost of erection of each, (7) the amount spent to date on the maintenance and reconstruction of each, and (8) the estimated value of each on the open market.
47.
asked the Minister for Education the amounts received by the State for the sale of the preparatory colleges at Dingle, Galway, Ballyvourney and Tourmakeady; the reason why these colleges have been sold after thirty years of State maintenance; and the reason why no invitation for tenders for the purchase of these colleges was issued by his Department prior to their sale.
A Cheann Comhairle, with your permission, I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46, and 47 together. The position is that last year the Government decided, as a matter of policy, to discontinue these preparatory colleges as one of the means of recruiting candidates for the national teaching profession. At the same time it decided, also as a matter of policy, that every endeavour should be made to have secondary A schools conducted in the preparatory college buildings in the future. These facts were made known to Dáil Eireann.
The decisions meant negotiating with the existing conductors of the colleges so as to try to obtain their agreement to run the colleges under the altered arrangements and to settle with them the conditions on which this would be done. Negotiations accordingly are in the process of being concluded in relation to four of the five colleges. In the case of the fifth where on examination it was found that due to the existing facilities for post-primary education in the area there would not be scope for a further secondary school it was decided to invite tenders for the college property. This has been done.
The disposal of all the property will be effected in pursuance of the provisions of the State Property Act, 1954. When the arrangements have been finalised the report provided for in Section 10 (6) of that Act will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Céard í an 5ú scoil?
Coláiste Bríde 'san Fhál Charrach.
