I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, Deputy Fitzgerald, for taking this Adjournment matter on the urgent need to provide proper facilities at Pallaskenry school in County Limerick.
There is a need to construct four classrooms as well as extra toilets, cloakroom and a store room. A proposal has been with the Department of Education for over 12 months, therefore something must be done as a matter of urgency. At present, 70 pupils are catered for in two classrooms which are situated in a totally unsuitable prefabricated building. A remedial teacher also works in this building, which is 19 years old. It was in use as a school for 11 years and was in service for eight years prior to that as another school. Everyone accepts that prefabricated buildings are totally unsuitable in 1997 and it is unacceptable to allow school children to use such facilities.
Teachers cannot do their work properly because of the conditions in which they are working. The building is in an extremely bad state of repair. While some moneys were provided for work last year, it is a holding operation which does not improve the situation. I visited the school last year and my foot went through the floor. The external walls of the building are rotting and there is dry rot in the floors of the classrooms. The Office of Public Works has informed the school management that there is an urgent need for work to be done. It is of the view that the building is beyond repair.
The building is cold in winter and warm in summer. In 1995 the classes were obliged to move outdoors because of the extremely hot weather. There is no insulation and no toilet attached to the building. Children are obliged to cross the main school yard to reach the toilet, which creates enormous difficulties during wet weather. Pupils must cross from the permanent structure to the prefabricated classrooms under similar conditions to receive remedial teaching. The Minister will agree that this is unsatisfactory.
Pallaskenry is a growing town. It is a satellite of Limerick city and the student population has expanded over the years and will continue to expand. The population has quadrupled in the past 20 years. There are council housing estates, building developments initiated by Aughinish Alumina and private development. It is a very attractive area with a great demand for sites. More and more families will move into the area.
The present situation is totally unsatisfactory. We should pay tribute to the teachers who work under these conditions. There are demonstrations outside this House from time to time. I hope we can look at all situations objectively. A delegation met officials in mid 1996. We understand the procedure that is necessary but we are asking the Minister to move this school to the first stage of construction. Then we will be in a position to progress it as quickly as possible. We have been talking about this for more then 12 months and this is my second time raising it in the Seanad. We are very anxious that progress is made on the matter. I thank the Minister for coming to the House.
