This is a fairly standard matter to raise on the Adjournment. On at least one occasion last week both matters on the Adjournment concerned national schools and the need to invest money in them, so I am following a tradition of the House. I raise this matter for a number of reasons. I lived in Greystones for five or six years and I know Kilcoole, a very attractive part of the country, quite well. More importantly, the chairperson of the board of management, Reverend Hurley, wrote to me about conditions in the school.
I very much hope the Minister will be able to indicate that something can be done because the school was already given a promise which was reneged upon. It is very unfortunate that people's hopes should be raised in this manner and then dashed. I know that money is always tight in Government Departments and that things have to be prioritised. However, I hope that because this school was given the impression that repairs would be done that the commitment will be honoured.
I have an engineer's report which indicates that if this report is not acted upon, the situation will deteriorate to the point where it will become much more expensive to conduct repairs in the future. So from the Government's point of view, it is wise housekeeping to intervene now and do the kind of repairs that will save it having to make a much greater investment further down the road. The engineer's report indicates it could deteriorate to the point where the building will be absolutely unusable. At the moment, it is not an appropriate environment for young people to be taught in.
The school was opened in 1983, and despite it having a very good caretaker, the building requires immediate professional remedial work. When Reverend Hurley wrote to me on 22 March, he referred to downpours in previous weeks and indicated that things were so bad that teachers had to place dustbins and buckets to catch the rainwater. He also indicated that they were given to understand these works would be carried out during the summer break of 2002. However, the primary building section of the Department of Education and Science is now advising them that their case is not a priority and that there is no plan for the work to proceed in the foreseeable future. That is an extraordinary turnaround.
A report on the school in the Bray People of Thursday, 28 December 2001 indicates that tiles are missing from the roof, windows are leaking and classroom ceilings are in a state of partial collapse. The report is accompanied by a couple of photographs showing water damage.
The engineer's report was produced by JP Byrne & Partners Limited of Arklow, County Wicklow. It indicates that the roofs have been identified as a source of water ingress for some time, the roof complex consists of a series of pitched roofs over the classroom blocks with flat roofs over the corridors and a high level flat roof over the GP hall. There are a series of coxdome roof lights over the corridors. The slated sides of the GP hall above corridor level contains 11 Georgian wire glazed units, which allow natural light into the hall. Many of these units are damaged and need to be replaced. There are defects in the slating throughout the roof structure and remedial works are required. Much of the external damage to roof finishes and glazing has been caused by vandalism. This is a real problem, and it is shocking that schools are attacked in this way, but unfortunately this is the climate in which we now live. In addition to vandalism, there is the problem periodically caused by flat roofs, of which I have experience. I owned a building in Temple Bar at one point which we were using for charitable purposes of various kinds and it had a flat roof. It was continuously developing leaks and it had the same type of Plexiglas domes, which were a problem.
The school also has problems in relation to cracks in the asphalt, and the fascias and soffits need to be painted. It appears that although there is a caretaker in the school who is spoken of highly by the manager, running repairs were not done sufficiently and the state of the place has deteriorated considerably.
To sum up, many of the 31 roof lights have been badly damaged by vandalism and need to be replaced. The Georgian wire glazed units in the GP hall have been badly damaged by vandalism and the neoprene seals are no longer functioning in these units. There are cracks and blisters in the asphalt roof over the GP hall, cracks in the asphalt roof over the east-west corridor and the south side of the GP hall is a cause of water in the classroom below, so rain is actually entering the classrooms. There is damage to slating, which is evident in a number of classroom blocks, and in some areas the broken slates and defective flashing are allowing rain water to penetrate the interior. The fascias and soffits have deteriorated to the extent that replacement is required over approximately 50% of the roof perimeter. The purlins in the pitched roof need to be supported on the inner leaf. The down pipes are damaged throughout the entire roof perimeter and must be replaced in a number of areas. The deflection on a section of the internal roof is caused by excessive storage in that area, and I assume the manager will take steps to remove this material, which could cause a problem. There is damp penetration in quite a number of the classrooms due to vandalism and the decay of the materials, and it needs serious attention. The opening sashes of the windows are causing severe problems for staff. Some of the windows cannot be opened at all, and we all know how unpleasant it is to have to work in an environment where you cannot open the windows. Even in this gracious hall we find it necessary to open the windows – one of the windows is open today, and how pleasant it is to let the spring breeze in.
The engineer's report concludes that the top priority should be to ensure that the building is weather proofed to prevent further deterioration and thus reduce future expenditure on maintenance works. I will not itemise the cost estimate as I am sure the Minister will have this in his possession. However, the total estimate comes to £132,300, with £16,537 in VAT. The Minister can discount the VAT as that goes straight back to the Government. The actual cost to the Government is about £140,000 when you add in contingencies, and it will really be a saving in the long run because if the building is maintained, it will not deteriorate to a situation where much greater expense will be incurred. It would be very nice to end this part of our parliamentary session on a positive note, and be able to indicate to the people in Kilcoole that some advance will be made.
There is a serious problem of deterioration. They approached the Department and were given an undertaking that the work would be done this summer, but now they have been told there is no prospect of it being done at all. The photographs I have show up to 25 millimetres of water lodging on the roof. It is really not acceptable and I hope the Minister will have some good news for me.
