I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity of raising with the Minister the need for additional caretaking facilities at St. Sylvester's national school and Pope John Paul II national school in Malahide. The schools share a caretaker under the 1978-79 scheme. However, pupil intake in both schools has increased considerably over the past 20 years. Combined, the schools cater for 972 pupils. I am aware this request will not hit the headlines in the media tomorrow morning. However, notwithstanding this, it is a very serious matter for the maintenance, safety and security of both schools.
St. Sylvester's has a school-going population of 365 pupils. The school has 12 classrooms, four of which are pre-fabricated buildings situated across the school yard from the main school building. In addition, the school has two separate recreation yards. The safety of the children is a major concern, particularly as the school is situated at a main crossroads, with a resultant huge volume of traffic passing the school.
Pope John Paul II school has a population of 607 children and has moved from being a three stream to a four stream school. The opening of the school each morning, for example, could take up to an hour, with over 40 doors to be opened, as it was decided a number of years ago to lock all internal doors for obvious reasons. School furniture, including audiovisual equipment, has to be distributed to all classes each morning.
At present both schools share a permanent caretaker who works three days per week at Pope John Paul II school and the other two days at St. Sylvester's school. This is an entirely unsustainable situation. It is obvious that additional permanent caretaking staff are required for the proper operation of the schools, particularly in the areas of general maintenance and security. It should be noted that the part-time caretaker employed under the community employment scheme at St. Sylvester's left in September last and to date a suitable replacement has not been found. In Pope John Paul II school the community employment scheme under which two part-time caretakers are employed will come to an end in February. Furthermore, work on the extension of Pope John Paul II school is expected to commence shortly. This, in itself, will necessitate additional caretaking in the interests of safety.
A very reasonable case has been made by the boards of management of both schools for the provision of a full-time permanent caretaker in both schools. A good, reliable caretaker is a very important member of the staff of any school. It is difficult to visualise a school, particularly a large one, operating without a caretaker. Some of the tasks required of a caretaker are to open schools, operate the heating system, move equipment, clean, repair furniture and broken windows, provide security and so on. How can a school operate properly without a caretaker?
Given the specific needs of the schools, the projected increase in the school population of the catchment area and the present economic climate, I urge the Minister to respond favourably to the request from the boards of management and to my appeal tonight on behalf of the schools, students and their parents, who are very concerned about this and want something done.