I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this matter.
The Ursuline College, Sligo, roll number 65180T, currently has an enrolment of 670 students who are using facilities condemned by the Department as inadequate and inappropriate for 500 students in 1983. They cannot continue to function in this way for another year and I ask that this case be given priority status immediately. I would be grateful if the Minister would process this application promptly so that the design team may proceed to stages 5 and 6 immediately. The project has been with the Department since 1983, when the school first made a submission; the previous upgrading of the school occurred in 1932, when the community built five classrooms. A team of DES instructors did a feasibility study of the school and as a result they were to produce a master plan including facilities for a school of 500 pupils.
This has gone on since 1983 but negotiations have also been ongoing from 1994 to the present, despite constant delays. In 2001, a stage 4 detailed design submission was sent to the Department. Despite letters and phone calls no written communication was received from the Department and the school is again being sidelined.
The Minister should consider this case. The school has 700 pupils and the points the Department raised are alarming. The application has been with the Department since the 1980s but in the meantime the classroom situation has deteriorated alarmingly. Parents, staff and students object to the conditions in some classrooms and are forced to use leaking, badly insulated and sub-standard rooms where electrical fittings are faulty. Toilet facilities are inadequate and prefabricated classrooms must also be used though their condition is deteriorating with every passing month.
I appeal to the Minister to ensure the school's application proceeds to the next stage as it is in dire need of accommodation. This was raised in a letter to the Minister on 17 February 2000, while on 20 May 2000 the board of management responded to the schedule of requirements and accommodation list issued with the February letter. As the level of information provided is now considerable and in compliance with the Department's education design team procedures for stage 4, it is time for the Minister to make a decision.
This school is one of the main education providers in Sligo town. It has huge facilities and a fantastic history but it is alarming that its application dates back to 1983. Its enrolment is 670 yet it was condemned as inappropriate for 500 pupils in 1983. This has been a problem under several Governments but in the last five years there was unprecedented money in the economy. It is disappointing nothing was done and the school is totally frustrated with the Department. It has contacted the executive officer in the planning and building design unit but it is still waiting for a response or an indication as to when funding may be made available.
Education facilities are paramount. In south Sligo a school is being built by a public-private partnership, one of four or five in the country, and it is disappointing that an initiative of that nature has not been used for this school. It is unfortunate that second level students must use inadequate facilities such as prefabricated classrooms and inadequate toilets. It does not enhance education in Sligo. The Ursuline College has a prestigious name throughout Ireland and I am disappointed to have to raise this issue at this level. The Minister of State knows the school and I appeal to him to ask his Department to give a clear indication of the level of funding that is available and the timescale involved so that building can commence at the Ursuline College.
