Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Oct 2004

Vol. 591 No. 1

Schools Amalgamation.

Mr. Connaughton

More than eight years ago in 1996 talks got under way between the two boys' secondary schools in Tuam, County Galway — St. Patrick's secondary school, formerly the CBS, and St. Jarlath's College, the famous football nursery, with a view to amalgamation.

After years of negotiations, all the stakeholders came to the unanimous view that amalgamation was in everybody's best interests. The students, teachers, parents and the locality itself would gain substantially by having in their midst a modern post primary school of sufficient size to lay on the optimum number of subject courses in keeping with the requirements of modern day Ireland.

The proposal is to base the new school on the St. Jarlath's College campus with additional accommodation to be built to cater for the St. Patrick's students and to have designed and built a modern purpose built educational establishment that will cater for the needs of that area for the next 100 years or more.

However, the wheels are beginning to fall off the wagon at this stage as the Department of Education and Science seems to have developed a deaf and dumb approach to the project. Eight years later both schools are encountering different kinds of problems in this limbo. St. Jarlath's decided, after more than 150 years, to discontinue its boarding facilities and after another year or two the college will have only day pupils. This decision was taken, in part, because of the impending proposed amalgamation and because like most other schools in similar circumstances, the numbers are dropping.

However, the problems in St. Patrick's are much more acute. Despite the school being maintained to a very high level, structural difficulties are now emerging which will make it almost impossible for the school authorities to continue to provide a proper school environment for its pupils unless a major job is done on the roof. Despite only being in place since 1990, the roof is not suited to this building and large quantities of water are either leaking into the classrooms or condensation is creating havoc by way of dampness all over the place. This school needs a new roof and it is estimated that it will cost almost €1 million.

The Department of Education and Science has little choice but to accelerate the amalgamation process as spending almost €1 million on a roof for a school that is earmarked for amalgamation would not seem to be good value for money. I call on the new Minister to give a commitment that the necessary funding will be available in the Estimates to start the ball rolling on this exciting project.

Mr. McDowell

I thank Deputy Connaughton for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, the strategy of the Department of Education and Science for capital investment in education projects and the current position regarding the development of post primary education provision in Tuam.

There are five post primary schools in Tuam — two voluntary secondary boys' schools, two voluntary secondary girls' schools and the vocational school, which is co-educational. Rationalisation of provision, involving the four voluntary second level schools in Tuam, was agreed in late 2000. Agreement has been reached with the relevant trustees to form a single boys' and a single girls' school, each to cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 700 pupils. The vocational school is not part of either of the amalgamation processes.

The school planning section of the Department of Education and Science has agreed with the management authorities of both schools involved in the amalgamation of the boys' schools that the optimum plan to address the accommodation needs of the single school which will result from the amalgamation is to extend facilities at St. Jarlath's College campus and to refurbish the existing facilities there. The objective is to ensure that facilities at the new school will serve the needs of the school community well into the future.

I appreciate that the key concern of the school community is when this plan will be implemented. While the Department cannot be specific in the matter, I assure the House that following conclusion of the current Estimates and budgetary process, it intends to publish the 2005 building programme which will operate in a multi-annual framework. This will provide clarity concerning all projects that are awaiting delivery, including the planned project at St. Jarlath's College campus.

In addition, I assure the Deputy that the project carries a high priority rating in line with agreed criteria for prioritising large-scale projects. The assigned priority rating is band 1.4 which I am told is a very high rating in the pecking order in the Department. This ranking will heavily and positively influence the time scale for delivery of the project.

Officials at the Department of Education and Science have been in contact with the school authorities to progress the detailed preliminary work necessary to facilitate this large-scale building project. If necessary works are required at either school, it is open to the school authorities to apply for consideration for funding under the 2005 summer works scheme. I heard what the Deputy said about the roof in St. Patrick's secondary school. My late sister and my brother-in-law were involved in efforts to get a school built in Killorglin in County Kerry and they had huge difficulty in persuading the Department that a pitched roof, as opposed to a flat one, was acceptable. There were people in the Department of Education and Science who, apparently, thought flat roofs were the way forward. I will not comment any further except to say that if what the Deputy said is correct, it is not the first time it has happened. The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 5 November 2004. A dedicated freephone service is in operation to assist schools with the application process, which in this case, relates to the flat roof. The number for this service is 1800 200 955. This service is currently available and will continue to operate until the closing date for applications.

Again, I thank Deputy Connaughton for giving me the opportunity to outline on behalf of the Department of Education and Science the method used by it in determining in an open and transparent way, and not on the basis of pull or otherwise, how projects are included for funding in the school buildings programme. I assure the House that this school and all others will be treated in a fair and equitable manner.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 28 October 2004.