andMr. McQuillan asked the Minister for Education the present average annual rate of the provision of new schools and the repair of old schools; and how long it will be before the position will be arrived at that there are no schools considered unfit for use or in need of major repairs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Provision and Repair of Schools.
66.
In regard to the first part of the question I would refer the Deputies to my replies of 21st February, 1963.
As the life of a national school building is limited, there will always be a normal programme of replacing and reconstructing schools. It is anticipated that all existing arrears should be cleared in a period of eight or nine years.
In the light of the fact that young people will have to spend eight or nine years in schools which require replacement, could the Minister say what the reason is why it should take so long to get rid of schools which are unfit or to put schools in need of repair into proper repair? Is it shortage of money, or labour, or what is the reason for the long delay in supplying the schools in view of the fact that it is possible to build hotels, and so on, in a matter of a year, or less sometimes?
Arrears become built up. Each year, there is a fall in of a certain number of schools. The arrears are being cleared at the same time as the normal fall in is being dealt with. As the Deputy knows, the speed of replacement has more than doubled recently. The main bottleneck occurred at the professional level in relation to the planning of schools, as far as I am aware, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance now hopes to improve the situation by certain steps he has taken to remedy it.