asked the Minister for Education if he will allow the CBS post primary school in Adare, County Limerick, to function for a five year period or until such time post primary facilities are provided for all the students in the area by way of a community school.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Limerick Educational Facilities.
27.
I have no objection to the continued functioning of this school in Adare. Arrangements are being initiated for the provision of a school which will serve the long term needs of the area.
Am I right in thinking that the Minister is prepared to allow the Christian Brothers school in Adare provide post primary facilities for students until such time as a community school which will cater for the needs of the students of the area is in operation?
I am prepared to do that but there is another party involved and that party is not prepared to continue.
Is the Minister aware that there is a strong belief in the locality that if he, as Minister for Education, gave the Christian Brothers permission to operate their school for a specified period—for instance, three or five years or until such time as the community school is established in the area—that they would take it upon themselves to provide these facilities?
My understanding of the situation is different. It is that this definite decision of the Christian Brothers involved was conveyed to a meeting of parents held in May, 1975.
Would the Minister be prepared to give an undertaking to the people of this area that until such time as a community school is built he would be prepared to allow the Christian Brothers provide these facilities if they are prepared to do so?
I have no objection to the continuing function of this school in Adare.
Would the Minister be prepared to allow them operate for a period of three or five years?
Yes, but I do not want to be put in the position of appearing to pressure a Religious Order into reversing a decision they already took some years ago and conveyed to the people involved.
If the Christian Brothers are agreeable to provide these facilities then the Minister is prepared to allow them continue, without hindrance, until such time as a community school is provided in the area?
In fairness to the Brothers, I should like to say that I would not wish them to think that anything said here was being said as a way of bringing pressure on them. I would not like the parents, the local representatives or anybody, going to the Christian Brothers and saying that a decision was up to them.
I accept the Minister has to be extremely careful here and I am sure he accepts that I am operating under the same appreciation of what is happening. If the Christian Brothers agreed to operate a school there would he give it his blessing and sanction and allow them to work? Is the Minister aware that this has been a problem area for many years and that the type of approval being given to the operation of the school has been of such a short term nature that it has done harm to the school?
It is hardly short term. The first indication that the secondary school in Adare would close was given ten years ago.
Would the Minister agree that in 1973 his predecessor, Deputy Burke, told the people concerned in the area that the school would close down at the end of that month, a decision which he changed shortly afterwards?
My predecessor withdrew that letter when a certain amount of other information came to him. He found out that the Order involved were pretty certain that they would have to shut the school because of the shortage of vocations and the difficulty of getting teaching staff for the school.
If the Christian Brothers were prepared to provide facilities until such time as a community school is erected would the Minister be prepared to allow them operate?
I have no objection to the continued functioning of this school in Adare.
28.
asked the Minister for Education the steps taken by him to ensure the availability of post primary school facilities for primary school leavers next September in the Dooradoyle, Mungret and Ballybrown areas of County Limerick.
On the basis of the information available to my Department it is considered that ample accommodation will be available in second level schools in September, 1977, for pupils from national schools in the Dooradoyle, Mungret and Ballybrown areas.
Is the Minister aware that only eight places are available to the new national school, St. Paul's, for the comprehensive school in Dooradoyle? Would the Minister agree that a larger number of places should be available in the comprehensive school to the students in the immediate area of that school rather than having them ferried across to the far side of Limerick?
My understanding is that no pupils will be leaving St. Paul's national school in September, 1977.
When the first crop of students leave St. Paul's how many places will be available at the comprehensive for them?
I could not say at this stage because we are talking about September, 1978. I should like to tell the Deputy that for the 7,700 pupils who will be leaving the city of Limerick and its environments next September there are more than 8,000 places available. Every student who wants to take second level education will be guaranteed a place.
Can the Minister say if representations have been made to him by groups in the locality who are extremely worried that places will not be available in this comprehensive school for the children living nearest to it.
Yes, but the Deputy must remember the basis on which this comprehensive school was set up ten or 12 years ago. A certain set of guidelines were given as to how pupils should be enrolled. In any educational system no pupil could be guaranteed a place in the school of his choice. The State is required to see that there are adequate places available within a reasonable distance of where people live.
Surely the Minister is aware that students from a school called St. Brendan's are guaranteed a place in this school if they want it?
Guidelines were given as to how enrolments should be carried out when this school was set up.
Is the Minister unaware that there is a rule in operation which permits brothers and sisters of existing students to attend this school? Will the Minister say whether or not he believes that this is in the interests of fair play?
This came up in another context last week. At that time I said that I had great understanding of parents who wanted all their children to go to the same school. I know that the charge can be levelled at school managers that this is unfair and that they are not taking the best pupils. I have sympathy with parents who wish all their children to attend the same school, if only for reasons of convenience, and I also sympathise with managers of schools who are trying to cater for this understandable desire of parents.
Could the Minister tell me whether or not this rule about brothers and sisters being given priority in getting into this school is a Minister's direction, or is it a managerial decision?
It is a managerial decision.
Is the Minister satisfied that this is the best way to operate such schools?
As I have said, I have great sympathy for all the people involved.
Could the Minister state if the system of admission in the school by ability mix has had any effect on the intake from the immediate vicinity of the school?
No, I could not. Does the Deputy mean that the national schools nearest to the school in question are not getting admission?
I have it that the school decided that it did not want to have a total intake of low ability students and decided to take in students on an ability mix right over the spectrum of the intelligence test. Did this have an effect on where the pupils came from? Is the Minister satisfied that this is in agreement with the general principle of comprehensive schools?
I am satisfied that enrolments to this school are in line with the guidelines given to them on their foundation by the Minister for Education of the day.