I wish to share one minute of my time with Deputy Finucane.
Adjournment Debate. - Tarbert (Kerry) Comprehensive School Project.
I am sure that is satisfactory. Agreed.
Tarbert comprehensive school was opened in September 1973. It was an amalgamation of Glin vocational school, St. Ita's College, Tarbert, and the private secondary school, Glin. It had 2,000 students then with one junior woodwork room and one junior metalwork room. In 1978 the building was adapted internally. However, no extra technology rooms were provided but it allowed for junior and senior studies to take place in the same room. In 1985 a new extension was opened which enabled the school to cater for 575 pupils. Unfortunately, no provision was made on that occasion for senior practical studies. From 1987 to 1989 discussions took place with the Department of Education regarding the provision of separate senior rooms for engineering technology and building technology. The final detailed design submission was made by the school's architect to the building unit of the Department on 2 April last. The project now awaits release to tender. The final design is for an extension in the region of 461 square metres. The existing accommodation cannot meet the demand for technological subjects. The school has an outstanding reputation in this area and I would not like to see it diminished now.
The parents' representatives who have been lobbying the Oireachtas representatives of north Kerry and west Limerick are very concerned lest any further undue delay should adversely affect their children's education. At present there is an intolerable problem regarding the provision of space in the two rooms available as they are used by five teachers, and there will be an even greater problem in September with the increased intake. The parents feel that the skills concerned — namely, engineering, construction and drawing — are extremely important, particularly as there are a number of large organisations in the catchment area of the school, such as the ESB stations in Tarbert and Moneypoint, Aughinish Alumina, Kerry Group and Foynes Harbour. It is feared that up to 80 to 100 students could be deprived of these facilities after September, with the resultant depletion in the future skills base in the area.
The five teachers of the practical science subjects in the school are very concerned at the undue delay in providing senior accommodation for engineering and construction studies. They feel that the totally unsatisfactory arrangement of having practical classes taught in ordinary classrooms has gone on for too long. It has put undue pressure on students and teachers and has made a mockery of the subjects concerned. The teachers have decided to refuse to take junior and senior examinations classes as they are unavoidably but contemporaneously timetabled with effect from 1 September 1992. They have passed on their concern to their respective unions, the TUI and the ASTI, and also to the school's parents' association and the parents' association for community and comprehensive schools. I appeal to the Minister to sanction this extension as soon as possible. Tarbert comprehensive school has been a major success story and it is vital, if this success story is to continue, that the extension is provided.
I support Deputy Deenihan in this matter. Although Tarbert is just inside the north Kerry border, many people from County Limerick, from places such as Ballynahill, Loghill, Athea and Glin, attend this fine institution. It has a very good reputation for education in the area and, as Deputy Deenihan quite rightly said, the Shannon estuary area has been fortunate in relation to industrial development. Indeed that school has acted as the power-house in providing many of the skills for the area. I would not like to think that pupils would be turned away from the school in September due to a lack of accommodation, which will be the inevitable consequence if the extension is not sanctioned. It is a tribute to the success of the school that so many pupils are trying to get into it. I fully support Deputy Deenihan's case.
I would like to thank the Deputies for raising this matter and I am glad to be in a position to outline the up-to-date position with regard to this project. This project involves the provision of additional specialist facilities at Tarbert comprehensive school. The complete project will provide 460 square metres of additional accommodation involving additional specialist classrooms to provide for senior metalwork and woodwork and building construction as well as an additional general classroom and other ancillary spaces. The estimated cost of providing this accommodation is £250,000.
As can be seen, the accommodation to be provided is of a specialist nature. The school is not significantly short of classroom accommodation as such but is lacking in these specialist facilities which prevent it from offering the optimum level of service which it would be in a position to provide when these new facilities are available.
The architectural planning of these facilities is nearing completion. The latest stage of the planning process, the combined detail design bill of quantities stage, is being examined. When this stage of planning has been satisfactorily completed the next stage of planning will be the invitation to tender. When the project is ready to go to tender the question of advancement will have to be considered in the context of the many projects on hand and the finance available.
In this regard I would have to be honest and concede that the Department of Education have many more projects in planning than there is finance to allow to start. At present the 1992 capital allocation is fully committed but the Department will be reviewing the cash flow position regularly before the end of the year to establish if any additional projects could advance to construction. The position of Tarbert comprehensive school will be examined carefully in the context of these reviews, when the project is ready to go to tender.