Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 7

Adjournment Debate. - Schools Refurbishment.

Mr. McGrath

I thank you, Sir, for allowing me to raise this important issue. Loreto College, Mullingar, is an all girls' voluntary secondary school, situated in Mullingar town and has a current enrolment of 824 pupils. This school, originally established as a girls' boarding school by the Loreto sisters, has evolved into a very large and progressive girls' day school. Thousands of women from Mullingar and its hinterland can attribute their development and achievements to the excellence of this school, the quality of teaching and the dedication of the Loreto sisters.

The original school is dwarfed by numerous extensions. The dedication and excellence of the principal and staff in providing the best possible education for their students is overshadowed by the failure of the Department of Education and Science to provide funding for the necessary improvements needed at the school.

This school is renowned for its excellence in the faculty of music. The playing fields of Ireland have played host to many champion Mullingar teams. Hockey, basketball, camogie, volleyball, tennis, swimming and Gaelic football are played in the school. The school's equestrian team has not only been national champions but has competed and won at international events.

This girls' school has answered the numerous call to ensure girls had the opportunity and the desire to study science subjects. Some 87 per cent of students at the school take science subjects but with a decided impediment to progress. Approval has been sought and obtained for the provision of two new science laboratories and the refurbishment of the existing two laboratories. The provision of an additional classroom and refurbishment of five other rooms has also been approved. A sports hall, changing facilities, showers and toilets, a new school entrance and the provision of lift facilities to accommodate students with disabilities have also been approved by the Department of Education and Science. However, this approval has not been matched with financial approval. It is relatively easy and cost-free for the Department to approve school projects but without the finance being made available, such paper approvals mean nothing. It is wrong for the Department to leave schools for protracted periods with all the paperwork complete but no commitment to an allocation of funds.

I call on the Minister of State to bring to the attention of the Minister the need to proceed to tender stage with this badly needed project. If approval for the complete project is not forthcoming during this year, at least approval for a phased development at this school must be made immediately. Taxpayers money expended at this school will be money well spent. The school has been starved of capital investment by the Department in recent years and it is now incumbent on the Minister of State to bring this to the attention of the Minister to ensure this omission is rectified immediately.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this matter because it gives me an opportunity to outline to the House the current position regarding the refurbishment project at the Loreto College, Mullingar. First, I wish to give some details of the background to the case.

The school authority originally applied for grant aid for the refurbishment of the science facilities at Loreto College in March 1996. In July 1996, a form ST1, which is the Department of Education and Science's official application form, was forwarded to the school's managerial authorities for completion. It was returned in August of that year and was considered by officials in the Department's planning and building unit . They advised that the short to medium term projected enrolments were 775 pupils with a long-term projection of 750 pupils. Based on these figures, the school was asked to complete an educational worksheet, which is a form used to determine the educational requirements of the school. This form was returned to the Department in December 1996.

Thereafter, officials of the Department entered into consultations with the school's managerial authorities concerning the precise level of accommodation required at the school. These consultations ended in May 1998 when it was decided that in addition to the school being provided with two new science laboratories, preparation area and physical education ancillary, the school would also be provided with a new physical education hall.

In April 1998, the Department approved the design team chosen by the school and advised that the design team be instructed to prepare a stage one submission – site suitability, briefing and site report stage of the Department's design team procedures. In January 1999, a stage one submission was duly received. In the evaluation of this submission and in the light of some additional information provided by the school's managerial authorities, it has been decided that it is necessary for members of the professional/technical staff to visit the site in the near future.

The Deputy may be assured that it is the Minister for Education and Science's intention that this project will proceed through the remaining stages of architectural planning as quickly as possible. When architectural planning has been completed, the question of proceeding to construction will be considered in the light of available resources and competing priorities.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.05 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 19 May 1999.