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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Oct 1992

Vol. 134 No. 7

Adjournment Matters. - Dublin Central Model School.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I have raised on a number of occasions the question of the Central Model School in Marlborough Street which is in the grounds of the Department of Education. I have raised it on five occasions since I came into the Seanad; in November 1989, May 1990, November 1991, June 1992, and October 1992 and on all occasions I have been given encouraging news that the school is about to be renovated, that contracts are about to go out and that approvals are about to be given. The previous Minister for Education, Deputy O'Rourke, said in May 1990 and I quote:

I am pleased to tell you that I have decided that the building project for the Model School, Marlborough Street, shall now proceed.

The Minister who succeeded her, Deputy Davern, attended the Christmas party there in 1991 and acknowledged the need to provide better accommodation. In a newspaper report Deputy Davern is quoted as saying they were going ahead in the New Year with the building of a new model school in order to give pupils a better chance. The present Minister for Finance said recently that the contract would be awarded on 1 October and that work would commence on the school immediately. The latest information is that tenders are to be in by 2 November and a contract awarded on 9 November. That sounds like a very specific deadline but these are the same types of deadlines we have had over the past three years. It is not good enough to receive promises which are constantly broken by successive Ministers for Education.

The background of the school is that it is one of the old model schools established by the Primary Board in 1837 and it was severely damaged by fire in 1981. Since then the pupils have had to work and play in the grounds of the Department of Education in old prefabricated buildings that were already some nine or ten years old when taken over by the Department and turned into temporary school prefabs. Now they are approximately 20 years old and quite unsuitable for their purpose. The roof is leaking, floors are rotten in places, toilets are in an atrocious condition and the buildings are generally deplorable. Children have been educated in these conditions since 1981, which is almost 12 years ago. There have been nothing but promises about improving the situation.

This year the Departments of Finance and Education agreed that £1.2 million would be made available for the reconstruction of the school. Now we are coming to the end of the year and no work has commenced. The danger is that if the money allocated for 1992 is not used, then we may have to start from scratch again, looking for further funding in the Estimates and budget of 1993. There is major concern that the matter is being put again on the long finger and that nothing will be done.

The conditions in which the children and staff are working are contrary to the provisions of the health and safety legislation and would be condemned if those regulations were adhered to. Before something of that nature happens and the Minister for Education is embarrassed in his own backyard about a school that should be a showpiece for education, I ask him to ensure that the reconstruction of the Central Model School in the grounds of the Department of Education is started before the end of this year.

I appreciate the case Senator Costello is making because I have a number of similar problems in my own constituency. I accept that this project has not proceeded as quickly as expected but I am glad to inform the Senator that real and continuing progress is now being made. Tenders have recently been invited from selected contractors and are due for submission to the Department of Education by 2 November 1992. The Senator will understand that I cannot say at this stage when the works will actually commence, as this is contingent on receipt and approval of a suitable tender, and subsequent arrangements with the contractor. The usual formalities, examination of bills of quantities, financial reports, insurances, etc. will have to be fully gone into in accordance with normal contractual requirements.

The Senator will appreciate the scale and complexity of this project, which will involve internal gutting of the existing building, together with the retention and restoration of the exterior. Indeed, it has been necessary to engage the services of a number of specialist craftsmen, and a team of outside consultants to assist in the restoration work to the facade.

The accommodation to be provided in this project will include ten general classrooms, a general purpose room and ancillary accommodation, at an estimated overall cost of £1,235,000. The project when completed will be a source of great pride to all concerned and a welcome boost to the inner city.

As the Senator will be aware the pupils, 242 approximately, are entirely housed in prefabricated accommodation arising from a fire at the school in 1982. The situation was further exacerbated by the fire at Easter 1990 which thoroughly destroyed the entire accommodation at the junior school and new prefabs had to be provided. The Department of Education are fully committed to the resolution of the difficulties at the earliest possible date.

For the reasons I have given, I am unable this evening to be absolutely specific as to when building work will commence. The Department of Education will be in a better position to do this when tenders have been received and examined. However, I can assure the Senator, the school authorities and all concerned that I fully accept that the case is urgent and that the remaining formalities will be concluded without delay.

The Minister says in his reply that tenders which have recently been invited from selected contractors are due for submission to the Department by 2 November. Will the other date of 9 November for the signing of contracts be adhered to?

I do not have any information on that. The Senator seems to have more information than I have.

The Seanad adjourned at 7.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 30 October 1992.

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