Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 May 2001

Vol. 535 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Schools Building Projects.

Mr. McGrath:

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to share my time with Deputy Penrose. Choláiste Choinn Torc, Castlepollard, County Westmeath, has a well motivated, dedicated staff providing an excellent education for the 150 enrolled pupils. It is the focal point for about 180 adults enrolled for adult education classes, mainly in IT. The existing school buildings are disjointed, piecemeal and rapidly deteriorating. They are archaic. It was identified as inadequate and 14 years ago the Minister for Education, Deputy Cooney, sanctioned major infrastructural works. This commitment was not pursued by the incoming Fianna Fáil Government. Eight years later, when the rainbow Coalition came to office, Deputy Breathnach, the Minister for Education, approved the school's upgrading and gave it priority status. This was again shelved when the Fianna Fáil Government came to power in 1997.

After four years of this Administration, a new site was purchased, plans prepared and planning permission obtained. There has been foot dragging and petty hold-ups by the Minister and the Department frustrating the efforts of the principal, Jim White, and the parents' association in progressing the project. One can imagine the disquiet among parents, teachers and pupils when the roof of the domestic science room collapsed a few days ago because of dry rot and a roof which had leaked for years. The room has an obnoxious smell of dampness and decay. It is unsuitable for use for domestic science. This situation is disgraceful.

The Minister must stop foot dragging and put the project to tender. Castlepollard parents have heard empty promises for too long. The board of management waited, expecting that the solemn promises of the Minister's representative at Castlepollard, who is a longstanding member of the Westmeath VEC, would materialise. They had empty promises day after day. The days of waiting and promises are over. The children and their teachers are entitled to adequate facilities. I call on the Minister to announce approval for the project to go to tender.

Mr. Penrose:

I am grateful for the opportunity, in conjunction with my constituency colleague, Deputy McGrath, to raise the issue of the necessity of new buildings for Castlepollard's community college, Choláiste Chionn Torc, without any further delay. This has been long promised and deserves greater impetus and urgency after the disgraceful situation which arose on Friday, 27 April 2001, when part of the ceiling of the home economics room collapsed, necessitating its complete evacuation, as Deputy McGrath stated. It was no longer safe or suitable for use due to a leaking roof, and had odours and signs of dampness and decay. The situation could have been more grave and serious, in that students had just completed part of the Department's examinations. It is a scandal for any Government or Department to permit such a situation to develop. It is a dereliction by the Department of its duties, responsibilities and obligations under health and safety legislation.

In the mid 1990s, after much agitation on my part, we got the commitment from the Minister for Education, Deputy Bhreathnach, to the long-term future of Choláiste Chionn Torc. Yet we only appear to have arrived at stage three of this project, which is nothing more than a developed sketch. Is it not true that this submission is lying in the Department's building unit since 8 March 2001, and nothing has been done? The Department agreed to group stages 3, 4 and 5 of this important school project to allow it to proceed to tender. Has the Minister no shame? What is the problem? Is it being delayed or long-fingered because of lack of resources to permit to proceed with all possible speed? If that is not the position, the Minister should request his building unit to set in train an accelerated process in relation to this project and to immediately stop the process of foot-dragging, dawdling and general obfuscation.

As a result of the latest catastrophe, students will unfortunately be deprived of home economics classes for the remainder of the term. This will cause disruption to the classroom tables. The students, rightly, refuse to use the room in its primitive and archaic condition. The situation on the ground is now unbearable and at breaking point, and the people of Castlepollard and the surrounding areas in north-west Meath feel that moneys which are easily found by the Government for every pet project under the sun should be spent on important long-term infrastructural projects such as Coláiste Chionn Torc.

There are 150 students in the school and almost 200 enrolled in the area for which the Minister of State has responsibility, the adult education courses, making it one of the most popular schools in the country. A site was bought and planning permission has been obtained. All that remains is for positive action to be taken to get the school project out to tender, award the contract and commence the project. I look forward to a positive reply from the Minister. It is the least that Castlepollard Community College, the staff, the parents and students deserve.

Mr. O'Dea:

Listening to Deputy Penrose's hysteria, one could be forgiven for forgetting that there was a Labour Minister here for almost three years. Fake indignation does not impress me.

Mr. Penrose:

She gave a commitment for the long term.

Mr. O'Dea:

She gave many commitments and did very little.

Mr. Penrose:

The Minister has a representative out there promising the sun, moon and stars, trying to con people. He will not get away with that.

Mr. O'Dea:

I would like to outline the background to this project.

Mr. Penrose:

You will not get away with it.

Mr. O'Dea:

It is fake indignation. It does not impress me in the slightest.

Mr. Penrose:

The Minister would know about fake indignation, he has been so long at it.

Mr. O'Dea:

The current school, Coláiste Chionn Torc has 151 pupils enrolled: 75 boys and 76 girls. Some years ago the Department of Education and Science received an application from County Westmeath vocational education committee for replacement accommodation for the existing school which was built in 1937.

A schedule of overall accommodation was issued by the Department to cater for a projected long-term enrolment of 200 pupils. This schedule was accepted by the VEC. In November 1996, the Department gave approval to the VEC for the appointment of a design team. In April 1997 the Department approved the VEC's choice of design team personnel. In May of that year the VEC was told that it was in order to instruct the design team to prepare a stage 1 report on site suitability in accordance with the Department's design team procedures. Unfortunately, when this report was received within the Department, it was deemed to be unsuitable. Subsequently, a revised stage 1 report was received in November 1997. In January 1998, the VEC was advised to instruct the design team to proceed to stage 2, which is the outline sketch scheme.

The stage 2 report was duly received in September 1998. An evaluation of this stage report within the Department revealed difficulties, including the lack of provision for temporary accommodation at the campus during the construction phase of the development. In an effort to resolve these difficulties, a meeting was held on 17 February 1999 between the chief executive officer of Westmeath VEC, the design team, the school principal and my officials. At this meeting, it became apparent that the optimal solution to the difficulties presenting was the acquisition of a green field site.

This decision was informed by the elimination of the costs associated with temporarily accommodating staff and students during the construc tion phase and by health and safety considerations.

Following this decision, the VEC was asked to identify a number of sites in the Castlepollard area that might be suitable for a new school. Six sites were identified. These were examined by one of the Department's senior architects. Three of the sites were considered to be suitable. A list of five of these sites was sent to the Valuation Office in April 1999 for valuation. A valuer from the Valuation Office met the chief executive officer and they examined the sites. A 7.5 acre site – part of the lands at Kinturk Demesne – was chosen for the site at a cost of £428,570.00.

The building unit of my Department received a stage 3, developed sketch scheme, submission of the Department's design team procedures from County Westmeath VEC on 16 March 2001. This submission is now being reviewed by the building unit of the Department, which will be in a position to revert to the VEC very shortly.

The building unit of my Department was not informed of the collapse of the ceiling in the domestic science section until mid-day today, Wednesday, 2 May, and I understand that officials from the Department are liaising with Westmeath VEC on this matter.