I wish to share my time with Deputy Ring.
Adjournment Debate. - School Accommodation.
That is agreed.
I thank the Chair for selecting this matter for the Adjournment. I also thank the Minister of State for coming in to reply. It concerns accommodation at St. Anthony's special school in Castlebar. I am aware of the pressure on the building unit in the Department of Education and Science. I tabled a question on the number of vacancies there for last night's Adjournment Debate. The consequences of the Sinnott case in the High Court last week will also have consequences for that type of building.
St. Anthony's has been in existence since 1967. The principal, Mrs. Kavanagh, and some of the staff spent some of the holidays trying to patch up holes in the wall. The building is completely outdated and obsolete. Mr. Bracken, the Department inspector, issued a report in December 1999 after visiting the school with another inspector and he made several points. The nub of the crisis is that the Department wants to provide a four-classroom school with some facilities but with no special computer room. The parents, teachers, staff and community want a five-classroom school with a special computer room, which is part of what the Department is doing with IT 2000 for all schools. I want the Minister to make a ruling on this; it is impossible to make a projection about enrolment for the next ten years, to which the inspector refers. There have been £60 million worth of industrial sites approved in the Castlebar region in the last six weeks; this town's population is exploding and even if people want to enrol their children in mainstream schools there will still be a need for St. Anthony's.
During Question Time today the Minister referred to classes for autistic children arising from the Sinnott case. There are six autistic children attending St. Anthony's and while Mr. Bracken refers in his report to the fact that there might be an autistic class being set up in the Castlebar district, the fifth classroom which is proposed in this case could be used for these autistic children. It would prevent the school from having to reapply for planning permission and going through the whole process of redrafting plans.
I ask the Minister of State to find out the facts of this case and to bear in mind the Minister's words today – that classes for autistic children usually comprise six students and there are six such children currently in St. Anthony's. It is a dilapidated and obsolete building and I want the Minister of State to make a ruling to the effect that there will be a five-classroom school here with a computer room. The inspector recommends that there should not be, which I find completely contradictory when it comes to Government and Department policy; that policy seeks to have IT facilities in all schools. Castlebar is an information age town and came second to Ennis in the telecommunications competition some years ago.
Those are the two points I wished to raise – a five-classroom school and a computer room.
I thank Deputy Kenny for sharing time. I support him on this matter, but it is sad we have to debate this. It is outrageous that this school was approved so many years ago but that we are no further down the line. The school was approved as a five-classroom school and now the Department wants a four-classroom school.
I compliment Hilda Kavanagh and her staff on working in the conditions they have. Many people in the private sector would have walked out of the school many years ago, but because the children have special needs she has often given up her own office for them. That is outrageous. I was contacted today by a parent from south Mayo who wants to send an autistic child to that school. However, the problem is that the school cannot accept the child as the child needs special care and there is no room. I plead with the Minister of State that whatever has to be done will be done at the meeting scheduled for Friday. This should be a five-classroom school as Castlebar is a growing town.
I guarantee that the mainstream schools will not work and we will see that in five or six years. I already have parents coming to me complaining that their children are not getting the attention they need in mainstream schools because those schools cannot deal with their problems. We want a quick and positive decision on this; we want a five-classroom school. It is wrong that this has not been dealt with before and I compliment Deputy Kenny on raising this issue. Parents from my area have children in that school and it is wrong that those children should suffer. Special facilities for autistic children are needed and I again compliment Hilda Kavanagh and her staff on working in such terrible conditions. I rang the school today and I spoke to a man who was there because he was afraid the flat roof would collapse owing to the rain today in Mayo. That is terrible in the year 2000 when so much money is available.
I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the current position regarding the proposed new school at St. Anthony's, Castlebar, County Mayo, and I congratulate the Deputy on his appointment as Education spokesman.
At present, the school has a staffing level of principal teacher, five assistant teachers and an enrolment of over 50 pupils. The Department of Education and Science initiated architectural planning for the construction of a new school to replace the current prefabricated accommodation. Planning permission and fire certificates have been secured.
However, the accommodation brief is currently being reviewed having regard to enrolment trends at the school. The Deputies will appreciate that the extent of permanent accommodation to be provided at any school is directly related to the number of students requiring the facilities in the long-term. The Department of Education and Science will have to be satisfied that the student enrolments at St. Anthony's will warrant the additional accommodation sought. A decision on the accommodation brief will be conveyed to the management authorities of the school within the next days.
The Deputies will appreciate that there are a very large number of school building projects on hand within the Department. Because of the priority which this Government has given to reversing the evident neglect of our primary schools previously, the spending estimates show primary school building and renovation funding increasing by an unprecedented 186% from the 1997 budget allocation. In addition, we have significantly reduced the burden of fund raising faced by schools and communities throughout the country.
I assure the Deputies that the review of the accommodation needs at St. Anthony's will be expedited as speedily possible and I will convey what they have said to the Minister and his officials.