My query relates to the need for the Minister for Education and Science to indicate when Springdale national school in Raheny will be permitted to proceed to tender, to clarify under what criteria schools are deemed "priority" and to indicate for how long schools are expected to remain on the priority list while awaiting approval to proceed to the next stage.
This school has been delayed in its current state without adequate explanation for the past year. I have visited the school and seen the conditions. I commend the principal, Ms Stella Downes, Dr. Fiona Manning and other interested parents and parties for their vigour and attention to this issue, and for keeping it in focus. The school is in a very dangerous state at present, having been denied funding for a new building for almost eight years. It appears the project has been put on hold again and again, and the deterioration in the state of the building over this prolonged time is having implications for many aspects of life in the school, not least the health and safety of both pupils and staff.
The school first applied for planning permission for a new school in 1999 and this was sanctioned by the Department in March 2001. In February 2003, the school's general inspector described the building as "totally inadequate" and it was assessed and listed as a priority in May 2005. Then, the Department altered the specifications and the school changed the plans accordingly. Despite proactively engaging with all the requirements as laid down by the Department and moving from stage 2 to stage 3 and through a range of stages, by February 2008, when the new school building list emerged, Springdale was omitted yet again.
In the meantime, the school building has deteriorated further with the deplorable conditions impacting on the entire school community. The health of staff and pupils has been adversely affected as a result of the dreadful conditions. School representatives met building unit officials last December and have been informed all along that the money "is there" and that the development will not be delayed. However, they feel that movement is not taking place and, to put it bluntly, that they have been getting the runaround. It appears there are unnecessary delays in the matter.
The school has no hot water, no designated PE facilities, no staff room and no library, and any such areas are now being utilised as temporary teaching areas. The junior infants classroom roof leaks, there is a damp problem and mouse infestation, and the principal spent last weekend sorting out drain problems in order to save money. Due to the continued lack of availability of funding, the school had to spend €2,500 on the heating system before Christmas, but the system itself is so antiquated that it is obsolete and replacement parts are no longer available.
What criteria are used to determine whether a school is placed on the priority list? "Totally inadequate" was the term used by the school's general inspector in February 2003. One wonders how pupils and teachers can be allowed to remain in premises that are in dire need of updating. Children should not be expected to carry the worry load of their school. Their childhood memories should be of learning, imagination, play and co-operation, not the adult worries of fixing the roof over their heads.
The children in this school are aware of the weather forecast and inform their teacher in order that the buckets and newspapers are in place to mitigate the effects of the rain on their dilapidated classroom. That does not square with the idea of a child-centred education system. In fact, it reinforces the public perception that the Government in times of plenty did not fulfil promises to schools like Springdale, and now, in times of scarcity, it seems that those most in need of support and funding will be those who suffer most.
