Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 31 May 2001

Vol. 537 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - School Accommodation.

Mrs. Owen

I apologise to the Minister and the House for my tardiness in arriving for this debate and I thank the Chair for allowing me to take it now. Malahide Community School currently has approximately 1,050 second level students. The building was constructed in the 1970s when the school changed from a convent school to a community school. It was one of the first community schools. Since then it has been providing excellent education for the students of Malahide. I must declare a personal interest in the school. My three sons went to the school and I served on its board of management for a number of years.

The school is extremely popular and has a great record of results. The parents of the students in the feeder national schools wish to send their children to Malahide Community School. As a result, the school has become one of the largest in the country. Last year the board of management informed the Minister that it would be unable to take in all the students applying for entry and would have to refuse entry to some. The Department of Education and Science pleaded with the board to accept all the students on the basis of its providing temporary accommodation, that is, prefabricated buildings. The management, anxious to accommodate the local students, agreed to take the temporary accommodation and to accept all students who sought entry.

That was done on the firm understanding that progress would be made in providing a new school on the campus. The school campus contains the school building and the nice old original school building which is supposed to function as a concert hall or theatre for the students and the local community. However, it is currently divided into three classrooms. The school is bursting at the seams. A design team has been appointed for the school and I hope its recommendation will be for a new school rather than an extension.

There are serious problems with the existing flat roofed building. Many schools were built with flat roofs in the 1970s. The roof of Malahide Community School is constantly leaking and the windows and heating system need to be replaced. If the Department decides on an extension, it will mean 1,100 students will be on campus while builders are trying to stitch a new building to the existing building. That would probably not be permitted under the health and safety regulations.

I urge the Minister to agree to the construction of a new school. The previous Minister, Deputy Martin, met with the parents and the board and appears to have given an undertaking that a new school will be built. The current Minister has written letters about it. What progress is being made? Will this building be ready in 2002? If not, students will have to be refused entry. The school will not accept more prefabricated buildings unless building is commenced on a new two storey school on the site.

Mr. Treacy

I am glad the Deputy has given me the opportunity to outline the current position regarding the provision of additional accommodation at Malahide Community School.

In June 1998, the school authority made an application to the Department for an extension of the school accommodation. The Department requested the school authority to provide information on the internal arrangements it would propose for a projected long-term enrolment of 1,050 pupils. On receipt of this information a schedule of overall accommodation was prepared by the Department for agreement by the school authority.

Subsequently, the school authority indicated it considered that a long-term projected enrolment of 1,200 pupils in the school was more realistic and appealed to the Department to revise the figure of 1,050 to 1,200. This has been done and a revised schedule of overall accommodation has been prepared based on the higher figure. The Department commissioned a feasibility study on the school in April 2000. The study is based on the original long-term projected enrolment of 1,050 and consequent schedule of overall accommodation.

This study put forward three options for the provision of additional accommodation at Malahide Community School. Option 1 proposed renovation and extension of the existing accommodation at an estimated cost of £3.85 million inclusive of VAT; Option 2 proposed demolishing the existing building and building a new two storey school on existing school lands at an estimated cost of £5.686 million inclusive of VAT; Option 3 was a variation of Option 2 and also proposed demolishing the existing building and rebuilding on unused school lands at an estimated cost of £5.835 million inclusive of VAT.

Upon examination of the feasibility study, Option 1 appeared to be the most cost effective option, particularly taking into account the recently completed re-roofing and drainage projects at the school. The re-roofing project was carried out at a cost of £287,871.55. The drainage works were carried out at a cost of £229,981.50. However, I am aware that the preferred option of the school community is a new building. Officials from the Department have met with representatives from the school authority to discuss this project and to agree an approach that will lead to the delivery of additional permanent accommodation for the school at the earliest possible date, in view of accommodation pressures at the school.

An advertisement seeking applications for inclusion on a full design team – that is, a suitably qualified architect, quantity surveyor, struc tural engineer and mechanical and electrical engineer – for this project has been placed in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The closing date for receipt of applications in response to this advertisement is 12 June 2001. The intention is to have the design team appointed by 31 August next at the latest. As soon as the applicants have been short-listed, representatives from the school authority will be invited to partake in the selection process for the design team.

The design team will be engaged to re-develop the school. This means that a decision as to whether additional accommodation will be provided by means of refurbishment and extension of the existing premises or whether there will be a completely new building will be incorporated into the design process. This avoids setting parameters for the design team which may impact on the early delivery of the additional accommodation. Issues such as value for money, the projected lifespan of a refurbished portion of the building and the availability of outdoor play space for the school must also be considered. The design team will also be asked to explore the possibility of a phased delivery of the project. If this is possible, it may result in some additional accommodation being available to the school prior to the overall completion of the project.

Possible interim solutions to the difficulties regarding the shortage of accommodation have been discussed with the school authority. The school authority has agreed to revert to our Department if they require temporary accommodation during the construction of the new permanent accommodation.

Our Department is undertaking to make every effort to complete the architectural design of this project, up to and including the obtaining of planning permission, in order to be in a position to invite tenders for a construction contract as quickly as possible. It is envisaged that this will involve all of the parties involved in the project – the school, the Department of Education and Science and the professional design team – working in close liaison throughout the life of the project. I trust that this information is to the satisfaction of the Deputy, the House and the people of Malahide.