asked the Minister for Education what is the present position in relation to proposals of the County Kilkenny Vocational Education Committee for the provision of vocational schools at (a) Freshford, (b) Gowran, and (c) Ballyragget.
49.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kilkenny Vocational Schools.
48.
asked the Minister for Education what is the present position in relation to the proposal by the County Kilkenny Vocational Education Committee to provide an extension to the Kilkenny city vocational school.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 49 together.
The proposals of the County Kilkenny Vocational Education Committee are briefly as follows:—
(a) Kilkenny city; to increase the size of the present school building from 13 to 30 classrooms;
(b) Freshford, Gowran and Ballyragget: to erect a new school of four classrooms in each case.
Agreement in principle has been conveyed to the committee in the case of the Freshford proposal and consideration is being given to the question of acquiring a suitable site. The other proposals are under examination in my Department.
Is the Minister aware of the urgency of this matter, especially in the case of Kilkenny city, where the pupils, young boys and girls, have to wait because there is no room for them? This has happened over the past number of years. A proposal has been before the Minister's Department for some time requesting an inspector to come to the committee and talk about this problem, but the committee have not even had the courtesy of a reply from the Department, although they have written three times. Is it now the policy of the Minister's Department not to reply to correspondence from the vocational committees?
I cannot say offhand without having the details available to me, what substance there is in his allegation, but I can tell the Deputy that the committee were informed by the Department that a decision as to the most appropriate and best method of meeting the post-primary needs of the young people in Kilkenny city would be taken in the light of the information which the survey would provide. They were also informed that I would shortly be issuing a circular to the vocational education committees and to the heads of secondary schools setting out in detail our policy in relation to post-primary education, indicating some of the problems arising, and suggesting certain lines of approach to meet those problems.
Am I to take it that the survey in relation to Kilkenny will take into consideration the need for a college of technology?
This comes into it to some extent, but it is not a major feature of the survey at all. The survey is concerned primarily with post-primary education.
It will be considered?
It will have relevance all right.
Would the Minister be prepared to receive a deputation from the committee in regard to this urgent problem?
Yes, when the committee have received and considered the circular to which I have referred, if they wish me to receive a deputation, I will do so.
Is the Minister aware that sites are available in the towns of Freshford and Gowran, and that unless there is immediate sanction for the purchase of these sites, they may not be still available, and we may not be able to get suitable sites?
The Deputy is raising another matter there. There may be other views as to whether the schools should be built.
This is the long finger again.
Let me explain, since Deputy Dillon is not familiar with what is going on——
Only too familiar.
——that when the committee consider the information supplied by themselves, there is grave doubt as to whether the proposal they suggest should be implemented, considering the close proximity of other vocational schools.
In the meantime, would the Minister sanction the purchase of the sites?
This cannot go on for ever. There have already been ten or 15 supplementary questions.