Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 6 Dec 1995

Vol. 145 No. 11

Adjournment Matters. - Templeogue (Dublin) College PE Hall.

Mr. Mulcahy

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy O'Shea, here to reply to this Adjournment matter. It calls on the Minister for Education to make a full statement in relation to the proposed physical education hall for St. MacDara's community college in Templeogue, Dublin 6W, given that the children attending this school have been deprived of proper physical education facilities and given that the promised funding for the design and planning phase of this proposed physical education hall, announced on 6 April 1995 has not, as yet, been forthcoming.

I do not have to go on for very long about this matter because I know that the Minister's Department is well aware of it and that it has received cross-party support. TDs, Senators and local representatives have been unanimous in their support for the parents and the school. St. MacDara's community college has been established since 1982 and is a school catering for approximately 930 students with a 40:60 ratio of girls to boys.

There are no physical education facilities whatsoever in this school, which has been campaigning for many years for proper facilities. The lack of physical education facilities is detrimental to the pupils and prejudices them should they wish to attend the University of Limerick or other third level PE courses. It involves a considerable expense for the school because pupils have to travel to other locations for their physical education. That involves hiring buses and paying for insurance cover.

I am not sure how familiar the Minister may be with that area, but the Willington-Templeogue district is very large and is home to many young families. There are one or two local sports clubs. The community is actively involved in raising funds for the local GAA club and the school parents themselves have promised to raise the money for equipment in the proposed physical education hall.

The Minister for Education, Deputy Bhreathnach, wrote a letter to the Minister of State to the Government, Deputy Rabbitte, on 6 April 1995. In that letter she said: "I am pleased to inform you that the building projects for the schools listed over the page will be included in a phased programme for 1995. That programme will be progressed as quickly as possible. A decision on the timing of the tender-contract process will be made in due course in the light of resources and competing priorities."

The parents are not looking for funding for the hall immediately. The Minister has agreed to funding for the initial planning and design phase. The Minister gave this commitment in April and she appeared to say that the money would be available this year so the planning and design phase could progress. On behalf of the parents and public representatives in the area, I ask the Minister to make these funds available as a matter of urgency. It is not good enough that a generation of young children should grow up without physical education facilities. They want this money by the end of the year so this matter can progress. Perhaps the Minister will give us some good news tonight.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Mr. O'Shea)

I am grateful to Senator Mulcahy for this opportunity to clarify the position concerning the proposed new physical education hall for St. MacDara's community college. Initially, I would like to give some details regarding the background to this case.

St. MacDara's community college opened in September 1982 to cater for a long-term enrolment of 1,000 pupils. At that time, due to the exceptionally heavy demands on available capital resources, priority had to be given to the provision of essential teaching spaces and, as a result, it was not possible to allocate funds towards the provision of a sports hall. In those circumstances it was also not possible to indicate when the hall would be constructed.

However, following discussions with local representatives and in view of the fact that the children attending this school have not had access to physical education facilities for some time, provision was made in the 1995 capital programme to initiate the architectural planning for a PE hall at St. MacDara's community college. The first priority of the Department of Education must continue to be to provide essential classroom accommodation in the many schools throughout the country where there is a need. Nevertheless, I assure the Senator that the Minister for Education is fully aware of the pressing need for this new facility and the Department will make every effort to ensure that the planning for this project is initiated as soon as possible. In this connection, the Department will shortly be in contact with the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee regarding the project.

The time-scale for the construction of the project will depend very much on the availability of capital resources for 1996 and subsequent years. Until the capital allocation for post-primary building purposes for 1996 has been made, I am not in a position to say when building will start.

Mr. Mulcahy

I thank the Minister for this statement. Will the Department be in contact with the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee before the end of the year?

Mr. O'Shea

I am not in a position to make a commitment.