I thank the Minister for taking this matter. Mr. Justice O'Hanlon, in a judgment handed down in May 1993 in the case of O'Donoghue v. the Minister for Health and others, said that a child was entitled to basic elementary education. The remedial teaching facilities in St. Brigid's primary school, Haddington Road, are not sufficient to allow its pupils to receive such an education. Many of these children come from disadvantaged areas and this must be taken into account when assessing the remedial teaching service which should be provided in any school.
It has become a joke to suggest that everyone who resides in Dublin 4 is rich and that it contains absolutely no areas of social deprivation. However, the statistics relating to St. Brigid's are quite frightening. A total of 63 per cent of the children are classified as members of disadvantaged families. A large number are drawn from the inner city, including large areas of Dublin 2, where the unemployment level is approximately 70 per cent. This seems unbelievable but many people living there are unskilled and disadvantage within families passes from generation to generation. That is why this school is seriously in need of help.
The school has 11 teachers. It shares a remedial teacher with St. Mary's boys' national school, which is on the same site. It shares a home-school liaison officer, has no resource teacher, no Department funded secretary and no caretaker, yet people on CE schemes are being withdrawn from schools, such as St. Brigid's. It does not have a school hall or computer room. A large number of children are in need of remedial teaching. A total of 30 children in fourth class or below require immediate help with languages. There is no help for children once they leave fourth class. There is no help for students experiencing difficulties with mathematics and 80 children are considered to be in need of such help.
I compliment students from Trinity College, Dublin, who run an outreach programme which provides home help for children in this area and it is avidly taken up by them. It is not as if they do not seek help. While children are encouraged to take up mathematics and science – and I regret the drop in numbers taking up science subjects at leaving certificate level – these pupils will never reach that level even though they are capable. There is a huge variation in the numbers of children who sit the leaving certificate. Among unskilled manual workers 52 per cent sit the exam but only 79 per cent achieve five passes. A total of 79 per cent of higher professionals sit the exam but 92 per cent pass five or more subjects. An enormous effort is put in by those who try to stay in the education system in order to get somewhere. I dare not mention the number of disadvantaged children who reach third level because it is too depressing. Such children take up 3 per cent or 4 per cent of university places.
I want to look forward for these children. It is not just that we want them to be literate. We hear continuous reports that it is high technology jobs that will be available in Ireland but nothing will be available to these children if they do not get a better education and participate in the intellectual revolution which has taken place. For that reason, this matter is a priority.
Perhaps its address is the reason this school did not get help earlier. Perhaps it is thought they are in a better social position but that is not the case. I felt I had to bring this matter to the attention of the House because a number of the teachers from the school and parents who have children there approached me and asked if I would bring it to the Minister's attention. They have repeatedly tried to have meetings with him but failed. I look forward to hearing the reply on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science.