I sincerely thank the Minister for being present in the House tonight. This is an indication of the seriousness with which he takes his new portfolio. Long may this continue.
Tralee CBS is rightly regarded as one of the outstanding schools not only in County Kerry but in Ireland. However, the authorities in the school are very concerned about the lack of progress regarding the proposed extension to the school. It was hoped that the rescheduled extension to the school would be occupied by September 1991. However, this has not been the case. The accommodation in Tralee CBS has deteriorated to such an extent that it will not be possible to cope with the increasing numbers in September 1992 unless extra accommodation is provided. The student population of the school has increased significantly over the years. In September 1990 there were 723 pupils in attendance. By September 1991 the number had increased to 768. The projected figure for September 1992 is 792 plus. This will depend on keeping the number of new entrants down to 150 which will be very difficult because of the large number of first year applicants.
The school authorities have already had to accommodate one class in a cloakroom, two classes in the lunch area and one group in the library. Junior classes have over 30 pupils. One first year class has 38 pupils, two junior certificate classes have 36 pupils, and three pre-leaving certificate classes have 30, 31 and 32 pupils. The oversized junior classes study science and some study technology. The numbers in these classes do not meet the standard required by the teachers union, the Department of Education or the insurance companies. Indeed at one stage the Department stipulated that schools should have an assistant in all science classes which had over 24 pupils. Unfortunately, those days are gone. The school will be entitled to extra teachers in September 1992. However, there will be no rooms in which to accommodate the extra classes.
The original proposal for an extension was far more elaborate than the one now on the Minister's desk. Some years ago the Department made a special arrangment with a number of schools, including Tralee CBS, regarding extensions. Most of these extensions have been completed. The authorities in Tralee CBS are prepared to provide 50 per cent of the cost involved. This means the Department will only have to contribute £178,000, which is a very good arrangement because usually funding is provided in the ratio of 90 per cent from the Department and 10 per cent from local contributions.
The new extension will include a physics room, a technology room, a drawing room and a staff room. However, the six prefab classrooms will have to be retained. Although they are now 23 years old they are in relatively good condition. Two of these rooms are used for drawing and technology at present. When the extension is built these rooms will be converted into three classrooms. The last time a grant was allocated by the Department of Education to Tralee CBS was in 1971. Since then the school authorities have had to carry out major repair work on the roof of this extension. A furnace had to be replaced at a cost of £7,000 and underground piping is being replaced at present at a cost of £10,000. All of these improvements have been carried out at no cost to the Department.
The school authorities deserve some positive treatment from the Department at this stage. I suggest that the modified extension which was agreed as a special arrangement between the Department and the school whereby the Department would pay £178,000 and the school would pay the remainder of the cost should be taken in hand immediately. As the completed documentation is now in the Department I ask the Minister to please allow the project to go to tender so that work can begin in the early spring. Even at this late hour, I look forward to a positive response from the Minister.
