I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Treacy.
Adjournment Matters. - School Accommodation.
The Minister of State has come here to reply to this matter which the Cathaoirleach kindly allowed me to raise on the Adjournment this evening. It relates to the very serious concerns which have been raised with me by the parents association of Scoil Caoimhghín, Littleton, County Tipperary, which is situated near Thurles. Members who travel the Dublin-Cork road or N8 route will know where Littleton is because they must drive through it.
Members may be aware that the primary school serving the children in the area is in a deplorable state considering the state of the economy. The prosperity we are experiencing at present has added to the feelings of frustration and anger of the parents of the children attending the school.
I have a detailed description of the state of the school which was prepared by experts in the Mid-Western Health Board and the fire office of North Tipperary County Council. The parents association has arranged a meeting for next Monday evening in Littleton because they want to highlight their concern, anger and frustration at the state of their school. They describe it as not a fit, secure or healthy environment for the education of young people and I agree with them. In response I undertook to raise this matter in this House. I hope the Minister of State will give me a response that I can relay to the meeting next week and to the parents and community in Littleton.
Littleton national school was built in 1947. It consists of eight classrooms, and that includes remedial and special need classrooms. Approximately 153 pupils attend the school, 84 girls and 69 boys. There are nine teachers and one office. The description of the school in reports by the Mid-Western Health Board, a surveyor and a fire officer clearly highlight that standards, particularly those in the toilets, are well below what one would expect. There are not enough toilets for the number of pupils and conditions are very poor. There is no drinking water or hot water in the school, despite the numbers of pupils. One part of the school is covered by a flat felt roof which has cracks and on the inside of which mould is growing. All the windows are defective and repair work is needed. Quite an amount of water lodges directly outside the school, taps malfunction and the roof needs repair. All door frames are defective and need replacing and the drains and gullies are not up to standard.
This description is also underlined by an engineer's report which points out that all the windows need replacing and the fire officer's report is worrying in that it points out that a number of items need to be addressed. There is no emergency lighting, escape doors were locked or not available for use, escape routes were being used as cloakrooms and cross-corridor doors may be required on the main corridor. This expert information bears out the anger, concern and frustration felt by parents.
Certain funding has been made available by the Department through some schemes but more needs to be done. I do not wish to sound trite or clichéd in saying that people expect better for their children in this day and age. The quality of education provided by teachers is second to none, as is our education system. We have invested heavily to ensure that our children get the highest possible standard of education. However, the physical environment is very important.
Last September 12 months, the Gaelscoil in Nenagh moved to a new building from a very over-crowded old building originally built by the Christian Brothers. The quality of the new environment has made an enormous difference and provides proper physical space and so on. It is very important that the physical environment reflects the high standards we expect from the education system and I hope the Minister of State will give a positive reply concerning the necessary repairs and funding required to bring Littleton national school up to the standard we expect and to which our children are entitled.
I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline the current position regarding an application from the management authorities of Littleton national school, County Tipperary, for additional accommodation. At present, the staffing level at the school includes a principal, five assistant teachers and shared remedial and resource teachers, so the school is well staffed. The current accommodation includes six permanent classrooms.
The Department received an application from the school authorities seeking grant assistance towards refurbishment and ancillary accommodation. The Department's planning and building unit is assessing the long-term enrolment. Such an assessment will assist in determining the future accommodation requirements, something which is now done on a continuing basis. This is unlike the past when each school was treated as it stood, necessary improvements were assessed and, eventually, may have been carried out. We now plan for the future by carrying out a demographic and structural assessment following which positive decisions are taken. A member of the Department's architectural service will shortly visit the school to carry out a technical inspection of the building. When that assessment has been completed it will be possible to determine how the accommodation needs of the school can best be met.
The Senator will appreciate that a very large number of schools building projects are being processed. Much of the problem is due to the huge amount of money made available which has created a pile-up in the delivery of the programme. Due to the priority which this Government has given to reversing the neglect of primary schools, the spending Estimates show primary schools building and renovation funding increasing by an unprecedented 186% from the 1997 budget allocation under the previous Government. In addition, we have significantly reduced the burden of fundraising faced by schools and communities. We have reduced local contributions and, in some cases, we are giving 100% grants.
I assure the Senator that the application by the management authorities of Littleton national school will be dealt with as speedily as possible and I thank her for giving me the opportunity to outline the current position. I listened with interest to the litany of problems listed by the Senator. I am somewhat amazed by them as we have had an aggressive schools building and renovation programme over the past number of years and there must have been some local problem which led to the school being in this state. Otherwise, we would have attended to it heretofore. However, the Department's professional staff will shortly visit the school and we will take the necessary action when we receive the report.