Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 May 1985

Vol. 108 No. 3

Adjournment Matter. - Castlepollard (Westmeath) Vocational School.

Mr. Cassidy

I would like to thank you for allowing me, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, to raise this matter this evening and also to thank the Minister for agreeing to come into the House here to make a reply on this very serious situation that has arisen in north Westmeath. I would like to plead the cause of the people and students of north Westmeath to have a new vocational school erected in Castlepollard. The present vocational school in Castlepollard was built in the thirties and was intended to accommodate at that time about 60 students. The original building was made of mass concrete with a flat roof and consisted of a kitchen cum science room with one classroom.

From nearly the very beginning dampness and major problems with this flat roof have been cropping up year after year. This building has had to be added to on many occasions as the numbers grew and now consists of three classrooms and six prefabs. In 1983, it was necessary to convert the nissen hut in order to provide two other small rooms. One of these is in use as a classroom and the other as a staff room. In 1984 three extra second-hand prefabs were acquired, also to provide more accommodation. The state of the school at the moment in May 1985 is that there are 11 rooms, six of which are prefabs. I think it is a scandal, a shame and a disgrace that this exists in Ireland today. We have three rooms which were built in 1937, each 55 metres. The fourth room is a woodwork room which is 72 metres, built in 1978. The fifth room, a metalwork room, is 100 metres and was built in 1965. The sixth is a secretarial room of 43 metres, a prefab provided in 1973. The seventh is a computer room, which is 21 metres, a prefab supplied in 1973. The eighth is a classroom which was an original room, 32 metres which was renovated in 1983. The ninth, tenth and eleventh rooms are prefabs. We all know the life of prefabs is very short.

To present this school, which was upgraded from intermediate certificate to leaving certificate last year with three second-hand prefabs is, I think, a scandal, to say the least. Be that as it may, bearing in mind that this is the only secondary school in the entire north Westmeath from Mullingar to Cavan, over to Oldcastle, up to Kells and down to Granard, it is a very important school as far as we are concerned. In all, we have six prefab classrooms.

On 5 February 1985 the Westmeath VEC wrote to the Department and later a deputation, of which I was one, met officials of the Minister's Department and informed them of the serious overcrowding conditions that existed at the school. Since then space is at a premium as numbers are steadily increasing. At present we have 177 students in the school and with the enrolments for next year it is envisaged that we are going to have 200 pupils.

I am a member of the Westmeath VEC and we have made an application to the Minister's Department to provide one more prefab, which is an urgent necessity, for the school for the coming year. Unfortunately, the Minister and his Department did not see fit that we should have this extra prefab for the students in that school. I would call on the Minister — we have appealed this to the Minister's Department — to have a serious look at the situation. On the present site there is very little room for further development, apart from the school buildings not being adequate at all.

Another very important matter is the lack of playground facilities. The school has been upgraded from intermediate to leaving certificate which increased the school attendance by at least 20 per cent, and there are no playing facilities there whatsoever. The nearest playground is three-quarters of a mile away and it belongs to Castlepollard hurling club. I want to place on record tonight the great credit due to the teachers and the pupils for producing a team this year to win a Leinster hurling championship with no playing field. It should be put in the Guinness Book of Records. In north Westmeath we have a wealth of hurling talent. All the hurling of the entire county comes from north Westmeath, and that is where this school is situated.

I want on the Minister to buy a new site and to make an announcement to the House that while we will have a problem in the short term it will not go on indefinitely. Castlepollard is a developing area, and it can be developed, but not without the necessary facilities, one of these being a school which can cater for a minimum of 250 students up to leaving certificate standard. Within the present constraints north Westmeath cannot develop to its full potential. There has been an educational study and an architectural study done in this area in the last few months and they are in agreement that there is a serious problem and that the present school does not meet the requirements.

Mr. Lynch

I would like to support Senator Cassidy's plea to the Minister to provide a new educational facility in Castlepollard. He is quite right when he says that this is the only second level school in the entire north Westmeath area. I come from Oldcastle, which is only 9½ miles from Castlepollard, and we have a good vocational school there but the Norbatine College in Kilnacrot, which is close to both Castlepollard and Oldcastle closed some years ago and Oldcastle had to take in that entire catchment area. There is a chock-a-block situation there. The fact that recognition was given to Castlepollard some two years ago when the school was upgraded to leaving certificate level, as Senator Cassidy has said, surely adds to the claim that the school should be replaced. I was a member of a vocational education committee for a number of years and when I hear of duplication of classrooms for teaching of general subjects and the addition of prefabs and especially the addition of secondhand prefabs I become very sceptical. I know from discussions with officials from the Department that the life expectancy of a prefab is ten years.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

There is a division in the Dáil and, as you understand the Minister has to leave.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Creed)

I will be back shortly.

Mr. Lynch

May I finish?

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

You may finish.

Mr. Lynch

Senator Cassidy is quite right when he says that this area has become highly industrialised. In the light of that vocational education must be expanded and must be promoted and certainly should not be curtailed. To give proper education to our young people it is vital that the proper accommodation and facilities are provided. The school was built in 1937 to accommodate approximately 60 pupils. Surely the Minister will agree that it is outmoded, over-crowded and should be replaced with the greatest expeditiousness.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Creed)

May I first apologise to the Seanad and particularly to Senator Cassidy and Senator Lynch for having had to leave the debate without hearing the views expressed by Senator Lynch? I have some notes taken of the points raised by Senator Cassidy and I will see what I can do about the provision of a prefabricated building. I did not have an opportunity of looking at that today but I will do so within the next few days. I am aware that putting down a motion on the Adjournment in a situation like this is not done for fun and I want to assure the Senators that I take the statements made by them very seriously. I am aware of the situation in Castlepollard. I have had some difficulty in understanding the position there but the case made by the Senators is not an exaggerated one.

My Department have just recently finalised an appraisal of the long term educational needs of the vocational school at Castlepollard. One of the factors of concern in this appraisal has been that while the school is most likely to have an enrolment of up to 200 or so within the next decade, increasing from the present enrolment of 176, subsequently there could be a very marked decline in enrolment. It is considered that there is no possibility of this school ever achieving the level of enrolment desirable to enable it to provide a curriculum ideal in terms of range and depth at junior and senior cycles.

Two further factors must be noted. First, the school is the only second level one in the Castlepollard centre, and second, the nearest post-primary centres are a minimum of 10 miles away. I find it difficult to understand why there are only 175 children on the rolls when the nearest postprimary school is over 10 miles away. We have examined it in great detail in relation to what the future of Castlepollard will be. It is in the context of these particular circumstances, and notwithstanding the limitations as regards curriculum spread that must follow from the restricted enrolment potential, that my Department have decided to proceed with the development of the school to provide 175 permanent places in due course.

The next question to be asked is: How is the development to take place? Is it to be a new school or an extension to the existing buildings? This is not an easy decision to come to. Experts on building in my Department reported that the existing structure is a good sound building, and the decision we have taken is to extend that school rather than provide a new school. The existing accommodation is considered adequate to cater for 175 students in the short term. It does include some prefabricated temporary buildings of the type which my Department are committed to replacing in all schools eventually. They will have outlived their usefulness. There are also four permanent type rooms.

It is the easiest thing in the world to say that we should ignore the existing school buildings and go for a completely new school. However, the overall financial situation, in which we are compelled to husband our resources and use them in the most economic manner possible, dictates that we examine the existing layout to see whether it can be used. The buildings have been inspected by my Department and it has been determined that the four permanent teaching spaces can be retained, and upgraded where necessary, to form the nucleus of the future school. The residual accommodation required to make up the shortfall and replace the temporary accommodation will be planned for by way of an extension. It is regretted that a new school cannot be provided. There are so many demands already being made on our capital allocation that the decision here is to extend the school rather than to provide a new school. One of the factors which determined that decision was that as far as we can ascertain there will be an increase in numbers of up 200 in the next ten years but from then on there will be a fall in the numbers. We must be concerned about the expenditure of public moneys of that sort. We in the Department have to be careful that we do not erect very expensive buildings of that sort which will not be utilised in the immediate and distant future.

The County Westmeath Vocational Education Committee will be formally advised of the position and agreement will be sought as to the range and extent of the new accommodation to be provided. Within the restraints imposed by the Department's area and cost limits, every effort will be made to facilitate the school in relation to the subjects at present being taught there. When agreement has been reached on the accommodation, arrangements will then be made to initiate architectural planning of the extension. There will be, in the not too distant future, discussions with the Westmeath Vocational Education Committee. This has been on the cards for some time, and I understand the frustration of teachers, pupils, parents and the public representatives. I sincerely hope that from here on, once the decision has been taken, there will not be any further undue delay and that with the co-operation of the Westmeath Vocational Education Committee we will provide an extension to this school as quickly as possible.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 9 May 1985.