asked the Minister for Education if he will make a grant available to the community of St. Anne's Convent, Cappoquin, County Waterford, for the provision of a sports hall, playing pitches and equipment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Waterford Schools.
26.
Under the terms of the scheme for the payment of building grants towards the cost of recognised secondary schools it is not open to my Department to grant-aid the provision of playing fields for secondary schools.
There is at present a very large backlog of applications for physical education halls and the case of St. Anne's Convent secondary school, Cappoquin, may be considered only in the context of the priorities to be accorded to the claims of the particular schools involved.
Can the Minister tell us the extent of the backlog? How many of these applications for grants for sports halls are dealt with annually?
I could not give the Deputy those figures but the backlog is very substantial indeed.
Could the Minister indicate how many secondary schools in the country have been grant-aided for the erection of sports halls?
The list of approved secondary schools for physical education halls amount to about five or six. I will answer the Deputy precisely by letter or else he could put down a specific question.
Do I take it that the total effort of the Minister in his re-establishment of the principle which we support, of financing sports halls shows that only five or six secondary schools have been grant-aided over the last four years?
The number I mentioned was a rough number. Every community school since I took office has been provided with a physical education hall and every new vocational school has also been so provided.
Can the Minister explain why there is a discrimination against secondary schools in the matter of the provision of sports halls?
There is no discrimination.
It is obvious.
They are being provided at the same rate as other schools. What the Deputy is doing is exercising blindness in one area and beaming on another area.
I am stating a fact.
I have a reply to Deputy Collins from the Coalition Minister when Deputy Collins was looking for a grant for Mount Sion which said that because of the overriding need to preserve available capital resources for the provision of essential classrooms they were suspending the scheme——
A final supplementary from Deputy Deasy.
Will the Minister supply a list of the applications for sports halls from secondary schools?
Yes.
Will the Minister accept that while——
That letter was dated 16 March 1977.
——his Government are now committed with our support to providing all community schools and so on with sports halls, there is an obvious discrimination against the financing of sports halls for secondary schools?
There is no discrimination against secondary schools. When Mount Sion was looking for one on 16 March 1977 the whole scheme was suspended and I have to carry the burden now.
Question No. 27 is for written reply. I am calling Question No. 28.