I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to raise this issue, the refurbishment of Kilfinane primary school. I welcome the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin, to the House. I was glad to be with him in Kilmallock last Friday. He was more than welcome and I hope he enjoyed his visit to the area.
I now refer to an area not far from Kilmallock, it is the next parish to it. This is a very important issue for the pupils, teachers and the community at large. They wish to ensure the development and structural refurbishment of Kilfinane primary school is completed as quickly as possible.
Kilfinane primary school is a six teacher rural school with a shared remedial teacher, and the current enrolment is 163. In January 1998, the board of management applied to the Department of Education and Science for a grant to carry out major structural refurbishment at the school. In January 1999, it received a reply stating that due to restricted site size and falling enrolment trends, classroom extension and conversion would not proceed. A grant was provided for indoor toilets and a staffroom was sanctioned.
The decision is unacceptable to the board of management, parents, staff and pupils of the school. They strongly reject this decision and refute the grounds on which it was made. The extension and conversion applied for in January 1998 is urgently needed and nothing less will meet the needs of the school community. I urge the Minister to re-examine this matter carefully, the case has merit and should be responded to positively.
At present the following unacceptable conditions prevail in the school. Four of the six classrooms are too small. There is no space in these classrooms for sink units, a computer or TV trolley or for storage cupboards. One of these classrooms is inadequately ventilated and children regularly complain of headaches. It is proposed to amalgamate these classrooms into two large ones, a staffroom and a storage room. The school is the base school for the remedial teacher. At present the remedial teacher's room is also the staffroom, the store room for all equipment, the music room and the library. Consequently, this room is more suitable as a remedial teacher's room and the plan is to provide a separate room for the remedial teacher. The school has neither a PE hall nor an all purpose room. There is a central hall in the school but because it is small and the main thoroughfare through the school, it is highly unsuitable as an assembly or a PE hall. The plan enlarges this hall and partially eliminates it as a thoroughfare.
The present building dates back to 1909 and the school is housed in a converted church. It consists of six small classrooms, three of which are only 35 square meters. There is a tiny ancillary room, which is used as a library, a tiny office and cloakroom. There is also a small central area which can be accessed from the classrooms. There is no staffroom and the toilet blocks are situated outdoors. The playing space outdoors is very limited.
In addition, three of the classrooms are seven by five meters and house classes of 27, 28 and 29 pupils. The partitions between the classrooms are wafer thin consisting of narrow timber boards or glass and fail to be sound proof which, therefore, causes difficulties for teaching and learning. There is widespread evidence of plaster decay due the dampness. The timber floors have begun to sag in many areas. Due to the building design, ceilings are very high and temperature extremes are common. There is evidence of dry rot and many of the windows can no longer be opened leading to a lack of adequate ventilation. The playing space is also inadequate for the pupils and there is no drinking water available to them. Sinks are provided only in three of the rooms.
There is no staffroom, proper library, principal's office or remedial teacher work base. On occasions, there is also evidence of rodent infestation. There is an urgent need to re-examine the decision of the Department of Education and Sci ence not to fund the extension proposal of the board of management.