(Wexford): Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this issue. Curracloe national primary school was built in 1985 to accommodate three classes and 79 pupils. The school now has 108 pupils and a staff of four teachers, a principal, three assistant teachers and a shared remedial teacher. It is quite obvious that the Department of Education was not doing much forward planning in 1985 when it built a school which, 11 years on, is too small.
Next year's projected enrolment is 115 pupils and a pupil figure of 91 is the present figure required to retain the three assistants. At present, the remedial teacher teaches in the kitchenette of the school which measures seven feet by eight feet. This is a disgraceful situation.
The school has applied to the Department of Education for an extra room and I tabled a question some time ago to the Minister for Education regarding this extra classroom. She recognised the need for an extra classroom but, because of the current level of contractual commitments under the primary school capital programme, she was not in a position to sanction one classroom for Curracloe national primary school despite the fact that, as Deputy Walsh said with regard to the previous Adjournment matter, the Departments were awash with cash. Obviously, this Minister does not recognise the importance or need for an extra classroom in Curracloe.
Curracloe is adjacent to Wexford Town. It has a rapidly expanding population and there is a large increase in building in the area. Indeed, the school inspector for the area feels the school will probably reach the size which justifies four assistants and a principal in the very near future. The projections for the next four years which have been sent to the Department show that the retention figure for three assistants and a principal is easily managed. More people are coming to live in this expanding area on a regular basis and it is high time the Minister and the Department recognised the importance of this extra classroom.
I have a list of 300 names of parents and pupils of Curracloe all expressing serious concern that they are being ignored by the Department of Education. I welcome the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Bernard Allen, tonight but I find it amazing that the Minister has never seen fit to take any of the number of matters on Education which I have raised on the Adjournment over the past two years. She treats back-bench Deputies on all sides of the House with total contempt. We are only reflecting the views of parents, pupils and teachers and the Minister should do us the courtesy of coming in here to answer.
The situation which exists in Curracloe national primary school is totally unacceptable. The school is not looking for hundreds of thousands of pounds. It is looking for a small sum of money to build an extra classroom to facilitate the teachers and children in an expanding area of population. I ask the Minister to look seriously at this request as the local inspector, who represents the Department of Education in County Wexford, has agreed that this is required urgently and his views should be taken seriously and treated as urgent.
