It is regrettable that it is necessary for me to raise this issue on the Adjournment. I speak of a very special school in my constituency in Cashel, County Tipperary, a school called Scoil Chormaic which deals with mildly handicapped children. At present it caters for 135 pupils aged five to 18 years. Scoil Chormaic was built to cater for children with mild learning difficulties but because of its generosity it caters for children with multiple disabilities such as physical disability, hearing disability, visual impairment, autism, behavioural disorders, language disorders and moderate learning disability.
In recent days much has been spoken here about a caring society. If we were a caring society. I would not need to raise this item on the Adjournment. The children catered for in Scoil Chormaic are special children with special needs who deserve special accommodation. It is with some embarrassment that I say that the students of this school are studying in appalling conditions. The teachers are trying to cope and help those children in totally unsuitable circumstances, to such an extent that during the heavy rainfall of the past few months the classrooms were leaking and, for safety's sake, these special children had to be removed from the school and taken home. Must we not question the aims and aspirations of our educational system if students such as those in Scoil Chormaic are not getting the type of facilities and the environment they need to make progress?
No words of mine could express my admiration for the principal and staff of that school. Is it right that the principal of that school had to meet public representatives to obtain for her students proper accommodation that should come automatically from the Department of Education? But for the generosity of the board of management, the parents and the people of South Tipperary who continually helped to raise funds for facilities, I shudder to think what sort of facilities I would be seeking for that school now.
This problem can be solved overnight and it is not in many circumstances that one can make that statement. It can be done because of the provision of a new community school in Cashel. Excellent premises are available to Scoil Chormaic from the Christian Brothers community in Cashel. While the situation is being looked at no decision is forthcoming and there is red tape, delay, many phone calls and letters. I am not prepared to allow that to continue for much longer. I will stand up for the students of Scoil Chormaic and I admire the work being done there by the principal and teachers. Will anybody disagree with me when I say that they deserve proper accommodation? Do they have to be in a school where the roofs are leaking, where students can trip and fall? These students need the best quality of educational services that we can deliver. The staff and parents of the school are very patient but I must warn that they are not prepared to accept these conditions any longer.
We all welcome better facilities for schools but I apologise to no one for saying that schools such as Scoil Chormaic in Cashel deserve priority. I hope I will have a positive response tonight and that very shortly the Department of Education will make available to the school the premises that are being generously offered by the Christian Brothers. Those premises are in good repair, vacant and waiting to be filled but for the red tape and hassle. If the Department does not act quickly there will be an accident in that school which will cost a lot of money. I do not want that to happen. I do not want any child to be fearful of any kind of dangers.
I want those teachers who give 100 per cent of their energies and resources to those students to have a proper environment and I hope that my plea on their behalf will be successful.