I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise an important issue, not only in my constituency, but in the west region of Dublin, in respect of which I failed to find a solution by way of parliamentary question.
Last May the new west Dublin education centre was completed on the grounds of the Tallaght Institute of Technology. Five months later it remains closed. Furniture and equipment are being stockpiled and teachers are unable to access the new facility.
Education centres are regional facilities which are a resource for teachers at primary and post-primary level. Each has a catchment area. Teachers normally go to their local centre for in-career development work, for example, on revised curricula, the introduction of new subjects or emphases, for courses relevant to teaching or to access libraries of printed books or software. In Dublin education centres are located at Drumcondra, Blackrock and west Dublin.
The existing west Dublin education centre has been located for some years in the VEC premises on Monastery Road, Clondalkin, where conditions are grossly inadequate. A new centre has been badly needed for years and its completion last May held out the prospect of teachers being able to avail of the new resource starting last September. However, in one way or another, the dispute about the terms of leasing has been ongoing for almost four years.
The Minister's reply to a parliamentary question of mine on 16 October is regarded as disingenuous. The only inference which can be taken from it is that the building is still under construction. This is not the case and the dispute is of long standing. The former director of the west Dublin education centre warned 12 months ago about the present mess. Meanwhile the centre is losing money and the professional development of teachers is being inhibited. The centre cannot generate income and revenue going to adjacent hotels ought to be going to the centre.
There appears to be no urgency about resolving this waste of public money and little concern about a splendid new centre lying idle. It is necessary for the Department to take an active hands-on approach to resolve this matter and permit the centre at Tallaght to function as planned and as desired by its staff. It is difficult to understand the official lethargy on this issue and no purpose is being served by seeking to give the impression that construction work is ongoing. The building is lying idle, costing public money and unable to provide the service for which it was planned.
