asked the Minister for Education if he will state, in respect for primary, secondary, vocational and community schools, which he has sanctioned since assuming office (1) the numbers of such schools sanctioned, (2) the numbers of schools in each category for which gymnasia have been sanctioned, and (3) in respect of each school for which no gymnasium has been sanctioned, the reasons for not sanctioning them, bearing in mind the stated policy of the Government.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Schools Gymnasia.
14.
None of the school building projects sanctioned by me has included provision for a gymnasium. As I have already explained, priority has, since 1974, been given to the provision of classroom accommodation. The number of new schools sanctioned by me is as follows: Primary, 61 new schools; Secondary, 32 extensions plus 12 new schools; Vocational, 11 extensions plus seven new schools; Community, eight new schools.
Did I hear the Minister rightly? Is it that no new schools or no new community schools have been sanctioned for gymnasia?
No schools.
Was it not the basic platform of the Minister's party's general election campaign that gymnasia would be sanctioned for all schools? Did I hear rightly that no schools sanctioned by the Minister have had gymnasia sanction or am I living in cloud-cuckoo land? Is the Minister being submerged by his Minister colleagues, Deputy O'Donoghue and Deputy Colley, or what is happening?
That question does not arise, but I want to point out that in July 1976 a decision was taken not to provide gymnasia for post-primary schools. There is a big backlog. I intend to review the question of the erection of gymnasia, and the Deputy can rest assured that if funds become available for me to build gymnasia for the schools which were built by my predecessors during the period in office of the National Coalition, then I will make the money available. I have already had to pay grants which they did not pay.
When does the Minister intend to begin to sanction gymnasia for schools? When does the Minister think he is going to have money and when can we take it that all applications for schools will be sanctioned and will get gymnasia as part of that sanction?
When the money becomes available. As the Deputy knows and as I have told other Deputies in the House, there has been a severe demand for finance for classrooms, laboratories and so forth hitherto, but I am determined that in regard to gymnasia we will resume the programme of building gymnasia which was interrupted in 1976.
Did the Minister give us to understand that he would clear the backlog of existing schools without gymnasia at the rate of one a year during his period in office?
The Deputy knows that the number of gymnasia which were omitted in the planning by my predecessors would be too great to clear in a very short period.
There are eight altogether and they are community schools.
There are more than eight altogether. I gave the statistics to the Deputy. The policy is to review the provision of gymnasia as soon as possible—and I hope that will be very soon—and to try to do something about the decision taken by my predecessors to stop including gymnasia in the plans for post-primary schools.
Would the Minister not agree that the simplest way of reversing the policy of the previous Government would be to commence to give gymnasia and that he has failed to do so in respect of any schools which he has sanctioned since he came into office?
Question No. 15.