I should like to thank the Minister of State for his attendance here tonight. I must also acknowledge both his and his Department's commitment to school building in north Kerry. Recently three new extensions to secondary schools have been completed and officially opened by the Minister of State in the area.
Since the major extensions were added to Saint Michael's College, Listowel and the Presentation Convent, Listowel, Listowel Vocational School now unfortunately finds itself in a disadvantageous position vis á vis the above two schools. The enrolment figure for the 1985-86 school year is considerably lower than that for 1984-85. The number of students in the school has dropped from 326 to 306. No doubt the attractive educational environs of the new extensions compared to the damp and rundown condition of the ten pre-fabs in the old vocational school is having an influence on where parents are sending their children to school.
At this stage I would like to compliment the principal and staff of the vocational school for their dedicated work over the years in providing an excellent education especially in the area of preparatory courses. The school also runs a very successful pre-employment course with almost a 90 per cent placement last year. This course has been in progress since 1978 and has found a widespread acceptance and approval from employers in the local community. There are ten pre-fabs in the school. Included among the pre-fabs is a science laboratory, a geography room, a library and an exercise room. Surely a pre-fab is not the ideal accommodation for a science laboratory? These pre-fabs are now almost 15 years old and are in continuous use despite their deterioration. Efforts have been made to maintain them on a regular basis but they are now falling apart. Almost 50 per cent of the school's teaching activity takes place in the pre-fabs. No doubt this is a very difficult environment for teaching and learning to take place. Both the teachers and the pupils have suffered frequent colds and flus because of the damp conditions, and in saying this I am not exaggerating. It is commonly accepted locally that this is the case. Some time ago during a visit to north Kerry the Minister for Education saw the conditions of the pre-fabs for herself and I must say was rather appalled and agreed that the pre-fabs should be replaced as soon as possible.
Listowel Vocational School provides a wide and comprehensive range of subjects. It provides the only facilities in the area for the teaching of metalwork, woodwork, engineering and building construction. I do not have to tell the Minister the importance of the above subjects in this area of modern technology. Besides, industry in Listowel requires a highly educated workforce in the engineering and technical areas. A number of our industries are in the engineering sector and require a workforce with an expertise in fitting, welding and toolmaking. Industries like Kerry CoOp, Stag Cutlery, Stelrod — to mention but a few — are very dependent on the expertise that is being acquired in the vocational school. Listowel Vocational School is ideally situated to provide this talent and it is imperative that they have every facility to do so.
Finally, while recognising the enormous expenditure on educational facilities and building in the north Kerry area over the past three years, especially in Listowel town, nevertheless I believe there should be no further delay in the proposed extension to Listowel Vocational School for the reasons I have outlined.