I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, to the House.
Adjournment Matters.
Schools Building Projects.
On a point of order, I understood the first matter on the Adjournment was that of Senator Cecilia Keaveney.
That is fine.
It is clearly stated here that Senator Diarmuid Wilson is first, but if there is agreement we will take Senator Keaveney first.
My Department is obtaining some information on Senator Wilson's matter. It would be helpful if we could take them in that order.
I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing my topic for discussion on the Adjournment. This is an ongoing issue. There is a small school in Monreagh, Carrigans, County Donegal, which was one of our first integrated schools, although the predominant ethos is Church of Ireland. The school was built in 1853 and there are 17 students, with 23 planned to enrol in September. There has been quite a lot of development in the general locality of the school and we are trying to encourage the community of those who have moved from Derry to this lovely rural area of Donegal to take up the opportunity of using the school.
It was decided in 2001 that a new school was needed. It is difficult to encourage not only the existing population but also new arrivals to use a school that has structural and physical problems such as this school has. The front of the school faces onto a very narrow road which is used by lorries carrying material from a quarry. These lorries deposit large stones in the area, as we discovered on Monday night when we attended a meeting at the school and saw for ourselves the stones that are bouncing off the lorries. The back of the school is shared with a working farmyard. Due to natural run-off of fertiliser and other such issues, it is not a particularly healthy environment for the school.
The biggest difficulty is that we are trying to sell the message that the school is to be relocated. Three sites so far have failed for one reason or another to materialise. There is a fourth site and the difficulty is not with the Department of Education and Science so much as with the Office of Public Works. The specific question we need answered is why there seems to be a problem with the complete title on the land. The owner bought the land 27 years ago and, he understands, has full title. Despite this, when he tried selling it on to the OPW, it stated there was an issue with the title of which nobody else seemed to be aware. At this time we are totally in the hands of anyone who can give us information on how we can make progress on this site. As I said, this is the fourth site that has been suggested for the school. It is now seven years since a new school was sanctioned. The current site is unsuitable and dangerous with health and safety issues both outside and inside the school. The school should be moving quickly through the system on the basis of the case presented in 2001 and also the very good presentation made by Angela McGee on Monday night, a copy of which I can give to anybody in the Department to prove the case.
The fundamental point is that we cannot move on to questions of whether we should be in band 1 or band 2 or how quickly we should be moving through the system because we do not yet have a site. I ask the Minister of State to elicit the information, if he has not already obtained it, on why there is a problem, whether it may be overcome and how we may do so. If someone else buys the site and then sells it to the OPW, will it accept that title? I know this is becoming personal because no matter how one deals with it, someone owns the site which the OPW is talking about buying, but I cannot overcome this issue. It is the sticking point.
We talk about maintaining communities in rural Ireland. This is a very strong rural area. The decision was taken in 1996 that the school would not be amalgamated with another school, but the Minister of State can understand the difficulty, as the years go by, of selling the message that a new school will be built. There are many new houses in the area whose families will sustain the school. Sustaining a school means sustaining a rural community. The people in this area do not have a religious bias. They are so close to the Border that in some places it would defy one to find the other side.
The Senator's time has concluded.
We are desperate in our desire to find a solution to this issue. I do not doubt that I will revert to the Minister of State directly with all of the evidence on how the process must be progressed quickly. I hope he has an answer.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators Keaveney and Wilson for their co-operation in the order of the Adjournment matters. I thank Senator Keaveney for raising this matter, as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position in respect of the specific difficulties and solutions for acquiring a site for Monreagh national school, Carrigans, County Donegal.
Modernising facilities in our building stock as well as the necessity to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth comprise a significant challenge which the Minister for Education and Science intends to be one of his priorities. Nonetheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. The Government has dramatically increased investment in the school building programme to almost €600 million this year.
Almost €4.5 billion will be invested in schools in the lifetime of the national development plan, an unprecedented level of capital investment that reflects the Government's commitment to continuing its programme of sustained investment in primary and post-primary schools. It will underpin a particular emphasis on the delivery of additional school places in rapidly developing areas while continuing to develop the Government's commitment to delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary accommodation throughout the country. It will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, with the focus being on site requirements in rapidly developing areas.
The Office of Public Works, OPW, which acts generally on behalf of my Department in the acquisition of sites for schools, was requested to source a suitable site in June 2001. The OPW advised my Department that, on foot of advertising, it had identified a number of sites. They were inspected by its regional architect and four were selected for further consideration. One of them was identified as the preferred option and, in November 2004, my Department instructed the OPW to open negotiations. The acquisition of this site was almost complete when, in September 2006, the OPW advised my Department that the vendor could not offer good marketable title to the property. Consequently, my Department instructed the OPW to readvertise. I do not have the exact details of why good marketable title was not on offer, but I can have more information provided to the Senator. The OPW has recently advised that there is a potential alternative proposal, which is currently under consideration by my Department in the context of its multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.
Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project, which indicates the urgency, type and extent of work required at a school. The band rating system involves all applications for capital funding being assessed in the planning and building unit of my Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings, site capacity, etc., leading to an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners.
I thank the Senator for affording me the opportunity to outline to the House the current position in respect of the specific difficulties and solutions for acquiring a site for Monreagh national school, Carrigans, County Donegal.
I thank the Minister of State for his report and offer him the safety report on Monreagh national school, which he might pass on to the relevant people. The school cannot encourage people to attend it given its history of being unable to acquire a site. Similarly, Ray national school had only nine students when it battled to get a new school. It now has approximately 92 students. Student numbers in Monreagh national school will reflect need, but the site difficulties have rocked people's confidence as to whether the project will go ahead. I thank the Minister of State for his contribution.
I apologise on behalf of my colleague, Senator O'Reilly, who wished to participate in this debate. He must attend another appointment, but he wishes to be associated with this Adjournment matter.
Laragh national school, Stradone, County Cavan was built in 1963. Originally designed as a three-teacher school, it now has 130 pupils, five mainstream teachers, one part-time resource teacher, one learning support teacher, three special needs assistants and one school secretary, a total of 11 staff. Three prefabricated buildings were added to the structure in 1972 when Caulfield national school and Carrickallen national school amalgamated with Laragh national school. A further prefabricated building was provided in September 2001. There are only two permanent classrooms, the rest of the accommodation being prefabricated. The condition of the prefabricated accommodation is deplorable despite the best efforts of boards of management over the years. Asbestos panels were removed from the prefabricated buildings approximately six years ago and replaced with plywood, which has since rotted. There is no hot water in the school. The electricity and sewerage systems are not up to safety standards and are in breach of the Health and Safety Act. The Department has been advised of this situation by my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith.
The parish purchased a large field beside the school to provide options for the necessary development and to try to improve playground facilities, but it was unable to do any work without the Department of Education and Science being on board. The school has an excellent teaching staff, but morale is low. Councillors Michael McCarey and Gerry Murray and Mr. Pat Smith of the school's board of management have been lobbying the Minister and I continuously in respect of this worthy project.
Two options are available to the Department, namely, a total refurbishment of the existing school plus the construction of a permanent extension or a new school on a greenfield site. I urge the Minister of State to progress one of these options as soon as possible.
I thank Senator Wilson for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House my Department's position regarding the provision of improved facilities for Laragh national school, Stradone, County Cavan.
As the Senator will be aware, almost €600 million in public funding is being provided for school buildings this year, enabling the completion of work on 67 large-scale primary school projects, which will deliver 7,000 additional permanent school places in new schools and 2,300 additional permanent school places in existing schools, and construction work on 150 devolved projects under the permanent accommodation scheme, which will provide 8,000 additional places in existing primary schools. In the post-primary sector, construction work will be completed on 19 large-scale projects, which will provide 2,400 permanent school places in four new schools, and additional accommodation and refurbishment works in 15 schools, which will benefit more than 7,000 pupils.
This funding will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, particularly in rapidly developing areas, and will facilitate the progression of new projects through architectural planning and design stages. On 1 February last, the previous Minister announced the first tranche of projects that will proceed to construction this year. Construction is also due to start in 2008 on the first bundle of public private partnership schools, while further projects will be offered to the market next year with a view to building work commencing in later years.
Laragh national school is a co-educational facility with a current enrolment of 127 pupils. The school has a current staffing of a principal, four mainstream assistants and one permanent learning support and resource teacher. The school authority submitted an application to my Department for large-scale capital funding for an extension project. The long-term staffing figure, on which accommodation needs will be based, has been determined. In this regard, it has been agreed that accommodation should be provided to cater for a long-term projected staffing of a principal, five mainstream assistants and appropriate ancillary accommodation. The proposed extension and refurbishment of Laragh national school has been assigned a band rating of 2.1.
The progression of all large-scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction is dependent on the prioritisation of competing demands on the funding available under my Department's capital budget. In the circumstances, it is not possible to provide an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project. However, I assure the Senator that the Minister is committed to providing suitable high quality accommodation for Laragh national school at the earliest possible date.