I am pleased An Cathaoirleach has given me the opportunity to raise this matter on behalf of the board of management, parents, pupils and teachers of Lanesboro community college. The conditions in this school are so bad that they have to be seen to be believed. I have photographs which give some idea of the condition of the existing buildings at this school. I know it would not be in order for me to display these while I am speaking but I will give them to the Minister at the conclusion of the debate and I am sure she will be as appalled as I was to see the conditions in which teachers have to teach and students are being educated in Lanesboro. Appalling and deplorable are the only words I can use to describe them.
All the prefabricated buildings are falling apart and have been condemned by the health and safety officer and the fire officer. They are both a health and a physical hazard. The grounds are subject to flooding on a regular basis and when it rains access to the prefabs is through a large pool of water. Resurfacing was deferred pending work on the extension. The old sewerage system has been condemned by the environmental health officer and the local county council. The disposal scheme for the new extension would alleviate this problem. Staff conditions are deplorable — there are no staff toilets and the staffroom is a 30 year old prefabricated cloakroom.
After four years of negotiations the Minister for Education sanctioned, on 6 April 1995, the building of an extension to Lanesboro community college. At a meeting between the Department's planning and building section, County Longford vocational education committee design team, the principal and the chief executive officer, the schedule of accommodation was discussed and some alterations agreed. I understand that the head of planning in the Department said money for preliminary work was allocated in the 1995 budget and he could foresee no hold-up as far as the Department was concerned. It was understood that as soon as the vocational education committee design team had produced the plans and these, together with bills of quantity and tender documents, were submitted and approved by the Department technical staff, the project would be advertised for tender. When asked for a timescale for the project, he said the Department would like to see the building occupied by September 1996 but acknowledged that might be rather ambitious. However, he said it should definitely be completed in the 1996-97 school year.
The design team completed their work on the initial plans and some months elapsed while these were being checked in the Department. Some alterations were required and agreed. The final submission of plans, bills of quantity and tender documents was made on Monday, 18 November 1996. These were finally approved by the Department on 5 February 1997 when the building unit stated it would issue permission to the vocational education committee to advertise the project. Later that day the vocational education committee was informed that permission would have to be withheld pending the capital allocation from the Minister's office. When the list of schools for the 1997 capital expenditure programme was published the next day, Lanesboro was not included.
The building unit has since confirmed that all is ready to go to tender and it is now purely a matter of finance being made available. It is imperative for the survival of the school that this project is advertised for tender immediately, otherwise new students will not enrol. Unless work commences early this summer and the new building is ready for occupation by September 1998, the school is doomed to closure as students could no longer be expected to enrol. Promises made to parents over the past two years have not been kept. The board of management, parents, ASTI, the TUI and the people of the locality are angered and frustrated. They have been tolerant over the last two years and want action to resolve this issue. I call on the Minister to provide immediate sanction to the board of management to advertise the proposed extension for tender so that work on the project can commence in early summer and I look forward to a positive response.
