The Christian Brothers High School in Clonmel was designed to accommodate not more than 350 students. In September it will have more than 600 students on the roll. This year the school had 220 applicants for first-year education but could accept only 127, resulting in 93 boys, 12 year olds, being rejected by the school. That is an appalling situation for the principal of the school, forced to make such a choice; for young boys who experience rejection at so early an age; and for parents who have to cope with a despondent child trying to come to terms with failure caused entirely by the lack of accommodation in the school.
Added to the alarming accommodation problem are the appalling conditions of the present school. The Christian Brothers have a very proud record in Clonmel and began education there in 1847. When the need arose in 1899, they built a new school. That building, now almost 100 years old, has to accommodate 200 students. It has been deemed structurally dangerous and is a continuous worry to management, who are interested in securing the safety of teachers and students. The newer part of the school was built in 1970 but an inspection by architects in 1985 revealed major defects. The Department of Education were notified but it took no less than five long years for an official to visit the school. Minor repairs to the roof were carried out. The school consists of one part listed as a dangerous building and the other part in need of major repair.
The position is shameful, but the story gets even worse. The school has no mechanical or technical drawing room; no crafts or metalwork room; no building construction room; no music room; no commerce room; no language laboratory; no demonstration room; no special tutor room; no social studies room; no library. The real mystery are the excellent standards that can be achieved in such appalling accommodation and with such poor facilities. There is no doubt that the honour lies with the entire staff, who, in spite of such obstacles, give their entire energies to making the best of the situation.
The school are not seeking luxury items. Rather, they seek the basics to provide the educational needs of their students. The problem is twofold: the standard of the present accommodation, which, I believe, should be an embarrassment to any Minister for Education; and the lack of space, resulting in students experiencing rejection at a very young age. At present students are crammed into buildings that are not able to accommodate them. We must ask, what of those who are refused entry? Have they a right to be educated in the school of their choice? Is it acceptable to tell 12 year olds that they are equal while in practice some are more equal than others? Should any principal be forced to classify a young boy as having failed to reach the standard in the entry test?
The neglect of the conditions in the high school in Clonmel extends even further. There were no PE or sports facilities in the school. As early as 1975 an official application was lodged with the Department of Education for a PE hall. The application met with no luck. Despite repeated requests there has been no response. As a last resort and in the interests of the school, the board of managment built a PE hall, at a cost of £324,000, without as much as one penny coming from the Department of Education. To date, a debt of £50,000 remains.
That is the reality of the appalling situation at the Christian Brothers High School in Clonmel. The Minister must accept that the problems have reached a critical stage. His intervention is needed urgently and unless steps are taken immediately to provide adequate accommodation along with sufficient space I believe that the situation there will be uncontrollable.
