I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to bring this matter to the Minister's attention. I see some very good friends from north County Dublin in the Visitors Gallery. I am pleased to see them visiting the House.
The matter I raise concerns the need for the Minister for Education and Science to provide additional classrooms at Clonmellon national school in County Westmeath to cater for an increasing number of pupils attending the school. In 1996 Clonmellon national school had 160 pupils on the roll with five class teachers and a shared learning support teacher. In terms of facilities, it had a general purpose room for physical education and other activities, tennis and basketball courts and a large playground. It also had a staff room, a kitchenette and a learning support room.
Five years later I am pleased to inform the House that 215 pupils attend the school. It is the only school in north Westmeath which has not declined in population in the past five years. Staffing has improved dramatically. There are 11 teachers, including an administrative principal, eight class teachers, a shared learning support teacher and a shared resource teacher. There is also a part-time resource teacher, a visiting teacher for the deaf, a secretary and a classroom assistant.
However, equally dramatic is the deterioration in accommodation. The school no longer has a general purpose room because it has been divided up to create a new classroom, a tiny resource room and a staff room. The former small staff room was not large enough and this is now the principal's office. There are two prefabs in the middle of the yard which means that the tennis and basketball courts had to be dismantled to create a playing area. The secretary is accommodated in the kitchenette with all the various utensils which must be stored there. The resource teacher is in a cubicle measuring 2.5 metres by three metres. There is nowhere to accommodate a part-time resource teacher and the rest of the special needs children must use the learning support room or the resource room when available and the staff room on the other days. This is unacceptable and it is no way to treat children, especially those with special needs.
The school has no accommodation for the visiting teacher for the deaf who calls to see two children with hearing difficulties. The two infant classes are still accommodated in an inadequate building which was built in 1936 and is due to fall into disuse when the proposed extension is completed. In 1998 the Department sanctioned a major job on the heating system in this building, but this work was deferred because of the impending building work. Unfortunately, the school must deal with the consequences of this decision.
The teaching staff in this school has almost doubled in the past five years, but the only improvement in accommodation has been an addition of two prefabs. The facilities on offer to pupils have deteriorated seriously and, with no general purpose room, the school can have physical education only when the weather is favourable. Other school activities such as concert and drama activities and the choir have also been adversely affected. The parents' association, which meets regularly and organises fundraising activities, for which it is to be congratulated, has been seriously hampered in its activities. There are also serious health and safety issues which must be addressed.
The new plans include major work on the existing building to bring it up to present-day standards. This work will include fire doors and fire screens which are essential, especially in the two storey building. It is also intended to provide a safe playing area for the children behind the building and well away from the road. The younger children play in front of the building which is next to the very busy N52. The current prefabs are a safety hazard as they create blind corners around which children run. Provision for parking is also included in the new plans because at present staff must park their cars on the main street in Clonmellon.
Clonmellon is a developing small town on the border of counties Westmeath and Meath. A scheme of 38 houses has been completed and there are many other housing schemes in the pipeline. Unfortunately, however, there are few facilities on offer. Members of the local community previously had use of the school's tennis court and were naturally upset to lose it. The general purposes room at the school was available for community events, but that is no longer the case. The parents of the children who attend the school, who made a tremendous effort to raise the local contribution of £25,000, were devastated to learn that the building project may now be delayed indefinitely. I compliment the parents, students and teachers who have shown great patience.
I know the Department believes that the eight classroom school is a most desirable unit, both educationally and economically. I ask the Minister to accelerate matters within the building unit of the Department in order that progress can be made on building a school of the size required in Clonmellon.
