I wish to share my time with my constituency colleague, Deputy Dermot Ahern.
Adjournment Debate. - Louth School Building Project.
That is in order and agreed.
The 1997 post-primary school building programme was announced last week when the substantial sum of £30 million was mentioned. By common consent, De La Salle College, Dundalk, had a most compelling case for inclusion of its extension. The college accommodation is causing appalling problems for both teachers and students. I cannot understand why the extension has not been included in this year's school building programme.
I contrast the treatment of the De La Salle College project with a project in County Meath. The Taoiseach said today on local radio that the most up-to-date facilities will be provided at the school in question.
I urge the Minister to reconsider the decision not to include De La Salle College in this year's school building programme. There is unbelievable pressure on space and general accommodation. The teachers, parents and students have been very patient. There was an expectation that provision would be made this year to allow the project to proceed.
I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this debate and I concur with everything he said. There is all-party consensus in the constituency in relation to this college. Each Deputy has put his shoulder to the wheel. I regret that the Government Deputies were not able to convince the Minister of the merits of the case. As the project proceeded through the various stages, it was made clear to the school authorities that the final stage, the production of finance, was the most important.
The teaching staff, parents and pupils have been let down. They had a compelling case. In the not too distant past a lawnmower shed had to be renovated to accommodate a class. It has been suggested that another classroom situated in the middle of the building without proper ventilation presents both a fire and health hazard.
This morning on LMFM the Taoiseach eulogised about the fact that in the past three weeks £46 million has been produced out of the hat for various projects in County Meath. The people of County Louth who were listening must have been envious of his efforts on behalf of his own constituency. He appears to be going out of his way to portray himself as the saviour of his county. I do not know if previous Taoisigh acted in the same way. There are schools not too far away, however, whose accommodation requirements need to be catered for urgently. It ill-behoves the Taoiseach to place so much emphasis on his own county.
It is disappointing that this project has not been included in this year's school building programme. The school will have to await the return of Fianna Fáil to Government.
I thank the Deputies for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline the position regarding the proposed extension at De La Salle College, Dundalk. I wish to outline the background to this project.
De La Salle College, Dundalk, is a post-primary school with an enrolment in the 1996-97 school year of 687 boys and ten girls. Accommodation at the school consists mainly of a traditional building with a number of prefabs.
Following a visit by officials from the planning and building unit of the Department to assess accommodation needs it was agreed to undertake a fundamental examination of future curricular policy for the school. An educational work sheet was completed by the school principal in consultation with the senior inspector from the building unit and a schedule of residual accommodation was drawn up by the Department and approved by the school. The school was then given approval to appoint a design team for the project. At the request of the school authority, the schedule of residual accommodation was amended and approved in June 1994. Subsequently a planning briefing meeting was held in the Department and a design submission was forwarded to the Department in late 1994.
Following a meeting between the school principal, his architect and members of the Department's building unit, it was agreed to resubmit plans to incorporate the agreed changes to the proposed extension. Further revisions were necessary to fully incorporate the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Regulations, Statutory Instrument 138 of 1995. The proposed extension comprises an area of 1,094 square metres and includes such specialist rooms as a language laboratory and a science laboratory.
This project has continued to progress through the various stages of the design team procedures at a satisfactory rate and two weeks ago the Department issued a letter to the school authority in relation to the stage 5 — bill of quantities submission. The next stage of the design team procedures is stage 6 which incorporates tender action and report.
Not for County Meath.
Given the limited resources available to the Department and the large number of applications for funding for second level school buildings, it has not been found possible to include this project on the 1997 capital programme, but one can see that the project has advanced quite quickly and substantially since 1994.
However, the extension project at the De la Salle College in Dundalk will continue to be reviewed in light of available resources and competing priorities.