In Mallow, 180 pupils and eight teachers have spent the past decade in prefabricated buildings. Gaelscoil Thomás Dáibhis is just one of the many primary schools whose pupils are expected to learn in appalling physical conditions. They are accommodated in prefabricated temporary structures; and "temporary" is the key word here as ten years is a long time for pupils and teachers to put up with temporary accommodation.
Last year Gaelscoil Thomás Dáibhis was included in the Department of Education's capital expenditure programme and was earmarked for a new building. This year, I understand the Department has been negotiating with Cork County Council for the purchase of a site at Summerhill adjacent to the vocational education committee land. It is vital that building work commences as soon as possible on this project. Neither pupils nor teachers can be expected to put up with the current situation for much longer.
Gaelscoil Tomás Dáibhis is not the only example of underfunding and long fingering in the primary sector. The greatest inequalities in our education system are not at third level — as some would have us believe — but at primary level. In many parts of this country approximately half of our children leave school with no qualification, let alone a degree. That is a damning indictment of our education system.
Our so called free system of primary education is anything but free. It is estimated that a primary education can cost parents approximately £3,000. Our primary class sizes continue to be among the highest in the EU and the ratio in our infant classes is the worst in the OECD. At primary level, Ireland spends less than half per capita than Germany, Sweden, Switzerland or the United States. However, tremendous work is being done by the parents of the pupils in Gaelscoil Tomás Dáibhis. For every £1 spent on primary education, we are spending £4.41 on third level education. This is an imbalance which, in the OECD, is exceeded only by Hungary.
Our primary students are expected to learn in a physical environment which ranges from the decrepit to the dangerous. It is unacceptable that in 1996 we still have primary schools without adequate indoor sanitation. It is also unacceptable that, as we approach the 21st century, almost a quarter of primary schools lack a supply of drinking water and that 64 per cent do not have access to a typewriter let alone a computer.
Democratic Left believes in a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. We believe that access to third level education will remain inequitable until all children have equal access to a solid foundation at primary level. Phasing out these so-called temporary structures and replacing them with modern, purpose built learning environments would be a step in the right direction. I appeal to the Minister to use all her influence to expedite the provision of adequate accommodation for the pupils and teachers of Gaelscoil Tomás Dáibhis. I also pay tribute to the parents who have campaigned for a new building and who have ensured that this issue is not allowed to slip down the agenda.
