Gaelscoil Uí Cheidhe in Bray, County Wicklow was founded in 1994. That year one teacher was employed and 26 children attended the school. Currently, there are seven teachers and 135 pupils in the school, a clear indication that it is a success.
However, the school is a victim of its own success. In its short existence it has moved four times and is currently located in a large Victorian house in Bray. The house is inappropriate and does not cater for even the basic needs of the school. The problems experienced by staff and children include overcrowding, poorly ventilated classrooms and no personal space for pupils either indoors or outdoors. Teachers teach in rooms with no space for the teacher's desk or chair, Irish dancing classes are held in a narrow corridor and the school yard consists of a small backyard where close to 75 children play. There is no classroom available for incoming pupils in September 2000.
There are serious health and safety issues relating to the school. The staff and parents have explored every possible avenue to resolve their desperate situation. They attended two hearings of An Bord Pleanála where their need was acknowledged but not acted upon. They have hunted down every possible site to no avail. Land availability in Bray is severely limited by topographical and planning factors. They have approached Bray UDC and received full support for their case but no solution. So far, none of this effort has led to a solution to their considerable difficulties and the substandard nature of their accommodation.
The school has a vibrant, hard working parents' committee and a team of dedicated teachers working with the board of management. They need to continue the growth and development of the school but they cannot do so without the intervention of the Department of Education and Science.
What makes the situation so frustrating is that there is a clear and obvious way to deal with the problem. There is accommodation close by in the town of Bray which was built for education purposes. The building has classrooms, a staff room, corridors of a decent width so children do not knock into each other and the ancillary facilities necessary in a school. The yard is not great but it is better than the one the school is forced to use at present.
The building is the former St. Cronan's boys national school building, recently vacated and now lying idle. Presumably, it was built with public money although it is in church ownership. When the principal, on behalf of the school, wrote to the Archbishop of Dublin, Desmond O'Connell, seeking to lease the premises she was refused. The letter she received from Monsignor John Wilson, financial administrator, stated that it was not diocesan policy to permit the leasing of properties. The letter stated also that the property was that of the parish, not the diocese or the Archbishop, and recommended that she contact the Department of Education and Science on the matter.
The problem is clear and urgent and the following questions must be answered. First, is the Minister for Education and Science willing to countenance the current substandard accommodation of Scoil Uí Cheidhe? Second, will he set about immediately making the arrangements necessary to acquire the building at St. Cronan's to accommodate the gaelscoil while a permanent home is developed for the gaelscoil? Third, will he guarantee that this school will be able to provide adequate accommodation for the new intake of pupils in September 2000 and that the accommodation will be of a proper standard in terms of the space, safety and facilities to which all children are entitled?
