I appreciate the Minister's being in the House to address this issue and the time given to me to raise an issue of concern to the residents in Castledermot. Scoil Dhiarmada was established at its current site in 1952. It has a record of excellence in the service it delivers to its catchment area. Over the decades, it served the primary education needs of its small village and rural hinterland in a part of Kildare where the population trends were static or downward. Recently, Castledermot emerged as a commuter town for workers in nearby Carlow. The County Kildare development plan, which seeks to control the county's spiralling population, has as its core strategy a commitment to redirect two thirds of the population growth towards the centre and the south of the county.
This has major implications for Castledermot, the largest population centre in the county's southernmost tip. Its population grew steadily in the 1970s, peaking in 1981 with 805 persons, but by 1996 it had fallen back to 733. The 1999 county development plan sets a target population for the town in 2006 of 2,150 people, a 200% increase. Reaching this target requires the building of 500 additional housing units with a consequential impact on Scoil Dhiarmada. In addition to the growth of the town, significant once off housing was built in the rural hinterland with some housing clusters in surrounding hamlets.
It is, therefore, obvious that with the population growth, action is required on the accommodation at the school. There is no possibility of extending the existing school as it is located on a postage stamp site adjacent to a national secondary with heavy traffic. The existing building is inadequate in many respects and its classrooms, although well maintained, are too small to meet current standards. Its play area is inadequate and because of the proximity of the road requires close supervision. Credit is due to the principal, Mr. Brendan Dunne, and his six teaching staff for running an excellent school for 211 pupils in such adverse circumstances.
The Department of Education and Science accepts the need to provide a new school on a green field site and that it should have up to 16 classrooms. A suitable site is on offer at Woodlands, Castledermot. I urge the Minister, whose presence I appreciate, to proceed immediately with the acquisition of the site or any other suitable site.
