Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 5 Feb 1985

Vol. 355 No. 7

Adjournment Debate. - Meath National School.

Mr. Farrelly

I wish to thank you for allowing me to raise this matter on behalf of the people of Ashbourne, the 60 families who will have 70 pupils eligible to attend and who have been enrolled in St. Mary's school for September 1985. These families have been working with the Department since 1981 to provide a primary school on a particular site in Ashbourne for the ever-increasing population there.

When this school started, the first three classes were held in the library of another school, St. Declan's, in the same village. The following year, the Department provided five pre-fabs which were supposed to be new but, when they were erected on the site at Ashbourne, it was found they had been used four times. Since then they have deteriorated even further. The teachers are running round with buckets collecting the water seeping in and this is a terrible situation in this day and age. Four more pre-fabs were provided and last year the parish provided and paid for an additional two pre-fabs without any help from the Department. That means that there is a nine-teacher school housed in pre-fabs.

Next September, 70 pupils who have already enrolled in St. Mary's will have no accommodation. They are being deprived of primary school education. There have been several deputations to the Office of Public Works and one to the Minister. The Office of Public Works promised that design plans and tenders would be ready by October 1984 so that the school could commence building in December last year but this has not happened. The management have been informed that final tenders were to be accepted in the Department by today, 5 February 1985. It would take six months to process these and building would not commence until 1986. This is far from satisfactory and I want the Minister to make a decision tonight to ensure that, as the new school is designed in three separate blocks of four classrooms each, the Department will get tenders out to a builder. The management have informed me that five different builders have said they will be ready to commence work in the middle of April 1985 and that four of the classrooms will be ready by September this year for the 70 students. If this does not happen, the management of the school will have no option but to serve notice on a seven-teacher Irish school in Ashbourne to vacate three rooms in the old parochial school which they have been using for the last couple of years, a mile away from the existing number of pre-fabs at St. Mary's. They do not want to take this action but they must facilitate the 70 students enrolled for next September. If the Minister takes action this can be avoided.

Ashbourne has developed over the last ten years and there has been a very big influx of people. There are now over 2,400 people on the live register in the area who are entitled to better facilities than they have. The least we should be able to provide is proper educational facilities for our young people. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to allay the fears in the minds and hearts of many parents in Ashbourne and that four more classrooms will be built. Even if the classrooms are unheated, they will provide heating themselves until the school is finished. I cannot stress how serious and important this is and the Department, especially the Office of Public Works, have not kept their promise that this school would go to tender Last September or even earlier and that it would be built in 1985. It would be a pity if the Irish school had to vacate their three rooms but, as I said, this is the only option the management of St. Mary's have if their demands are not met. All the children should be educated together, instead of being switched around, starting off in the library of St. Declan's, then in pre-fabs and the parish having to provide two extra pre-fabs themselves.

I wish to thank the Minister of State for taking this question. I know there are problems in many areas but, if a positive effort is made in the next month or six weeks, building could commence on four of the new classrooms, which would mean the 70 pupils would have accommodation in the near future.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Creed)

Following consideration of a report by the Department's buildings inspector in March 1982 on future enrolments and school provision in the Ashbourne area, where a 16 classroom national school was already established, my Department agreed in principle in May 1982 to the establishment of a second major national school for the area. This new school was also to comprise 16 classrooms and it was proposed that the school be provided in two phases, the initial phase to comprise 12 classrooms and a second phase, comprising four classrooms, to be provided at a later date, if required.

The site offered for the project by the chairman was inspected as to its suitability by the Commissioners of Public Works and found to be acceptable. With the agreement of the chairman, the commissioners were asked in May 1982 to prepare a sketch scheme for the project. Documentary evidence of title to the site of the proposed school was, as required under the rules for national schools, submitted by the chairman in May 1983, and this was cleared as satisfactory by the Chief State Solicitor in June 1983. The sketch scheme had already been received from the commissioners on 6 May 1983 and examined and approved by my Department subject to certain minor modifications and accordingly my Department were in a position in August 1983 to write to the chairman giving their formal approval to a grant subject to the satisfactory outcome of negotiations with regard to the amount of the local contribution. This arrangement was in order to enable the chairman to arrange with the Commissioners of Public Works for the further necessary architectural planning of the project.

Following protracted negotiations the amount of the local contribution towards the cost of the project was finally agreed with the chairman at the end of January 1984. This enabled the Department to advise the Commissioners of Public Works on 27 January 1984 that the way was clear for the completion of the architectural planning process. My Department were informed by the commissioners on 30 November 1984 that the working drawings and bills of quantities would be ready shortly and were asked for approval to invite tenders. On 11 December 1984 my Department authorised the commissioners to proceed to the invitation of tenders.

In the meantime, St. Mary's national school was established in September 1981 with an initial enrolment of 80 pupils. The pupils were housed in prefabricated accommodation on the site of St. Declan's school. In June 1982 the Department agreed to the provision of five additional prefabricated classrooms together with toilet facilities and ancillary accommodation to house the growing enrolment of St. Mary's pending the erection of the new permanent school. The Department have been informed by letter from the chairman of 31 January 1985 that two further classes are to be enrolled in September 1985 and that this will necessitate the provision of extra accommodation. The chairman has sought written confirmation from the Department by 24 March 1985 that part of the new permanent school will be ready for occupation by September 1985, as his board's only acceptable solution to their accommodation problem. My Department are not in a position at this stage to give such an assurance but are in consultation with the Commissioners of Public Works about the prospects of being able to meet the board's request. Meanwhile, the position regarding the proposed new school for St. Mary's is that tenders have been received by the commissioners and are at present under examination with a view to early placing of a contract.

I might say at this stage that there is no basis for the Deputy's assumption that 70 children will be without accommodation in September 1985. Even if it is not possible to meet the specific request of the school's board of management in this connection, there are other means of solving the problem. I might add that it is a problem not unique to Ashbourne but is one which has been encountered in rapidly expanding urban centres and which has been overcome by reasonable co-operation and goodwill between the local school authorities and the Department. I have no reason to believe that should the problem arise in Ashbourne, it cannot be overcome in a similar spirit.

I understand the Deputy's concern in relation to the overcrowding in Ashbourne. I would be very slow to allow part of a new school to be used by teachers and children when there are contractors and builders working on the site. There would be danger to the children if some of the rooms had not been completed. My Department are only too anxious to co-operate with the board of management to ensure that there is full accommodation for all the children.

It is not in accordance with the facts to say that the board of management provided a number of prefabricated buildings without any help from or thanks to the Department of Education. I am not too concerned about the thanks but the Department did help to provide the prefabricated buildings. I ask the Deputy to inquire about this from the board of management. It is not normal practice for me to give the details here.

In relation to the all-Irish school in Ashbourne it would be a panic measure and it would be wrong for the board of management and the chairman to adopt that attitude. If there was not an all-Irish school the 70 pupils attending the school would have to be accommodated in this school. That point should be taken into consideration by the board of management. I hope they will not proceed with that kind of attitude. There are many ways in which the overflow can be accommodated while waiting for the new school. There could be a deferment of the enrolment of the infant class from September to December when it is possible that the school could be completed. I advise the board of management that if they co-operate with the Department no children will be left without accommodation.

Sometimes the Department are blamed for things for which they are not responsible. I should like to be able to say to the Deputy that a contractor will be appointed and that the work will commence on a certain day but I cannot give such an undertaking. It depends on the examination of the bill of quantities and whether it is in accordance with the costs laid down by my Department. We depend on the Office of Public Works to advise us in relation to cost. It would then be necessary for the Department to sanction the appointment of a contractor to build a school. That would depend on whether the contractor could provide a bond, how quickly he could do so and so on.

We are aware of the urgency of this case and of the overcrowding that exists. I assure the Deputy that as far as the Department are concerned there will be no undue delay in providing a new school for the Ashbourne area.

The Dáil adjourned at 8.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 6 February 1985.