I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for affording me the opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment. Second, I thank the Minister for coming to the House herself. Given that she was out of operation for some time, I thank her for coming to the House personally rather than sending a junior Minister to deal with this issue. With the permission of the House, I wish to give a few minutes of my time to my colleague, Senator Brendan Daly.
Adjournment Matters. - Kilrush (Clare) Community School.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
In 1987 the staff of three schools in Kilrush — the Convent of Mercy secondary school, the CBS secondary school and the vocational school — agreed to amalgamate to set up a community school. In 1992 that went into place in so far as the three schools cooperated and worked together on a community school basis. Since the discussions first began, attempts have been made to secure a site. Unfortunately, to date no agreement has been secured on a site to be purchased, as far as we know. It is important that a site should be purchased and a date set for the commencement of construction work.
The Minister is familiar with west Clare, having connections in the area herself. The three schools are quite a distance apart, which involves children walking from one school to another, particularly between the CBS and the Convent of Mercy. The vocational school is equidistant from the other two. The result is that throughout the year, and in the winter months in particular, these children are subject to wind, rain and all the hazards of the elements. In addition, staff are forced to travel between the schools. They have done this successfully and have been most co-operative over the past number of years. However, they are coming to the end of their tether and need constructive action. They initially co-operated on the assumption that a school would be built relatively quickly after the agreement. Unfortunately, that has not happened and they are becoming annoyed with the situation.
We understand that a rather large sum of money has been offered for the CBS site. I do not wish to deal with the details, but some of those on the board of management and staff would argue that it is quite an exorbitant sum and that a greenfield site could be purchased outright for that amount of money. In any event, a site is required and I urge the Minister to take cognisance of what has occurred over the past number of years in relation to the distance and inconvenience involved. The teachers who must travel between the schools are not financially compensated in any way and they are beginning to find the situation annoying. The travelling is causing wear and tear on both teachers and pupils. I hope the Minister will consider this aspect.
The teachers are also concerned about the appointments to posts of responsibility made over the last year. The Department of Education has not made payments for the 1992-93 year to those who were given posts of responsibility. Perhaps the Minister will take this point into account also.
Kilrush and west Clare in general are economically and socially deprived. There is a high number of unemployed and socially deprived people in the area. If the children there are to have any hope of success in the future, it will be through the best possible education that can be provided to them. This can only be done in one school building, where everybody operates under the one roof. I appeal to the Minister to recognise the urgency of what is required. A good education for the children of west Clare is absolutely essential if they are to get anywhere in life. The reality of the economics of the region is that it will not provide one with a living in one's area. If one has to leave, one needs the backing of a good education. It is a fundamental necessity.
Another issue relates to a remedial teacher in the school. There are a number of remedial teachers in the local primary schools and I compliment the Minister for making recent appointments to schools in the area. However, the fall out is that children who come into second level do not have that support system. Perhaps the Minister will also consider that aspect.
I ask the Minister to urgently purchase a site and announce a date for commencement of building so the parents, teachers and board of management will see that constructive progress is being made within the Department of Education.
I support the case made by Senator Taylor-Quinn. I thank her for allowing me the opportunity to contribute on this issue.
I press upon the Minister the necessity to expedite the developments in Kilrush. She will be aware from the files that this has been a long drawn out saga. It was initially difficult to reach agreement and, although it was secured, there is now further disruption because of the indecision regarding the site. The case has been well documented and a number of people have spoken to the Minister. Questions were put down in the other House about it.
The urgent necessity is to get the site sorted out and to get on to the planning stages. It will then be possible to put it in the queue for funding, which is another day's work. The Minister is aware that teachers are becoming impatient and that the parents are also becoming agitated. In the long run, the pupils will suffer. They will be disadvantaged in the sense that they will not have the same standard of facilities as in other institutions. It is urgently necessary to get action. If it cannot be resolved here, perhaps the Minister would meet a delegation from Kilrush, which would press upon her the urgency of the case. I thank the Minister for coming to the House.
I thank both Senators who contributed for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position concerning the development of the new community school at Kilrush.
Senators are aware that the three post primary schools at Kilrush amalgamated to form a new community school from the beginning of the 1992-93 school year. I welcome this development. The three schools involved are the Árd Mhuire Christian Brothers, the Convent of Mercy and the Vocational School in Kilrush. I know the situation as I travelled from one to another during a visit.
The intention is that the CBS sites, both secondary and primary, will be purchased and developed with a view to providing the accommodation needed for the community school. Negotiations regarding the acquisition of the Christian Brothers' property have been in progress since the establishment of the community school. Department officials again met with representatives of the Christian Brothers last week. Agreement was not reached at this meeting, but the Christian Brothers' representatives are to further consider their price for the sale of the site. It is expected that the negotiations will be concluded soon and that the purchase of the property will be finalised as soon as possible.
The matter is between the negotiating teams, not the Minister. It is expected that they will be concluded shortly. Where an amalgamation is agreed, there is a responsibility on the Department to respond positively and quickly. This is where the matter lies at present. The position regarding the planning of the project is that the design team are currently in the process of completing a condition report on the existing CBS building which it is intended to develop. On receipt of this report, which is expected to be submitted shortly, architectural planning of the project will proceed.
It is not possible to say when the building of the school will commence. However, this is one of the projects that has been designated as a priority. I will ensure that there is no undue delay in the completion of the architectural planning so that the construction of the project can commence at the earliest possible date.
The Seanad adjourned at 8.35 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 30 June 1994.