Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit don Teach arís agus mo bhuíochas le coiste meánscoil iar-thuasceart Baile Átha Cliath agus go mór mór Ray Ó Ceallaigh agus a chomhoibreoir i dtaobh an obair atá déanta acu ar feadh na blianta an scoil nua lán Ghaelach le dara leibhéal a bhunú in iar thuasceart Baile Átha Cliath.
Unfortunately, a second level school has not been provided yet, despite the number of years that the coiste has been endeavouring to establish one and the great need for a second level all-Irish institution. The stark reality is reflected in the statistics. There are 15 bunscoil lán-Ghaelach on the south side of Dublin while there are also six meánscoil. On the north side of Dublin there are 12 gaelscoil and two meánscoil. There is a substantial imbalance in the choice of second level schools available to the children of the northside and there is a need for a greater number of such schools.
The Department of Education and Science has dragged its feet on this matter. The two second level schools on the north side are Coláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square and Scoil Chaitríona in Glasnevin. Coláiste Mhuire is in need of major refurbishment which would cost in the region of £2 million and no such money has been forthcoming from the Department. It is hard to say that a level playing field is in operation on both sides of the river. There are 300 per cent more second level schools on the south side of Dublin.
The City of Dublin VEC indicated that it would be happy to be patron of a new second level school on the northside and gave carte blanche to the Department and the coiste involved in trying to establish one. That happened three years ago and there still has not been progress. The Minister indicated his support for such an institution but it seems to founder on the Department's view on what are the requirements for accommodation. It has refused a building that was identified on the basis that it would not be a long-term and permanent site for the new gaelscoil. However, it has not provided an alternative and does not seem to want to provide funding or a site for a new school.
We cannot continue indefinitely in limbo where pupils attend an all-Irish primary school and then find themselves with no choice but to go to an all English secondary school. That is not in accordance with the principle of cherishing all children equally or acknowledging the parents' right to choose the education of their first choice. They are clearly denied that and the Department has not come up with a good enough reason other than a lack of suitable accommodation. Why can the Department not go along with the site that was identified?
If the school were in operation for six years it would be possible to transfer to another site with ample accommodation but the Department is not prepared to do this unless it can see the end result. It is not prepared to take any step and has not identified any school where there might be satisfactory accommodation, even though it has indicated it feels that there is adequate second level accommodation on the north side of the city and some disused accommodation that could be used.
However, it has not identified accommodation for an all-Irish school operating with a proper all-Irish ethos which requires certain physical traits so that one would be able to ensure pupils were attending an all-Irish institution and not a multilingual institution. The Minister gave a commitment in one of his last public utterances on the matter. He said that he would give a rún daingean, which is a powerful commitment, that before the 1999 school year the matter would be resolved.
