I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach home from Brussels and I congratulate him on his conquests in Europe with the new constitution. I hope he has good news for me on Rice College in Ennis.
This issue affects the teachers and pupils of Rice College which was the old Christian Brothers' school. Earlier this year, with the Fine Gael spokesperson on Education and Science, Deputy Olwyn Enright, I visited Rice College following a request from the parents' council. During our visit we toured the school, the classrooms and the facilities. We visited the science laboratories and I was taken aback by the outdated facilities which reminded me of something in the 1950s. In my own time in Saint Flannan's college in Ennis, the science labs were much better than what I saw this year in the twenty-first century.
Ennis is an information town and the school does quite well in its junior and leaving certificate examinations. Science subjects need to be taught more often in schools and many students are not taking them up, particularly in the leaving certificate. If the facilities are not there for the students at an early stage, then it is very hard to expect students to stay with these subjects for the duration of their education.
I was astonished to discover that in the event of an emergency such as a fire or an explosion, which can easily take place in a science class, it would be difficult for students and staff to evacuate the building. There was only one door, the windows were located at a high level and there was no fire escape. In this day and age I thought I would never see something like this.
There seems to be an element of confusion between the Department of Education and Science and Rice College on the refurbishment of science facilities. This came to light last month when I raised it in a parliamentary question. It was noted that Rice College made no application for resource grants under the revised syllabus for junior certificate examinations. The board was clear that a science inspector from the Department had told the college that laboratories were quite unfit for conducting the revised junior certificate course. The board was in a no win situation. If it had signed for the grant, it would have to oversee the introduction of the revised syllabus against the advice of the school inspector. The board of management was not prepared to do this. The board is anxious to comply with the Department's instructions and to introduce the new course, but it needs the help and expertise of the Department to bring the laboratory up to standard.
I hope the Minister will intervene and provide the necessary funding and assistance for the pupils who are taking science courses and that this case will be resolved by September.