asked the Minister for Education if he is aware that the pupils of Corofin National School, County Galway, have not attended school since 4th November; and if he is prepared to make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Galway School.
31.
I am aware that a number of pupils of Corofin Girls' National School have not attended school for some weeks.
Planning arrangements for a new school are nearing completion and tenders for its erection will be sought early in the new year.
Arrangements have been made for an inspector of my Department to visit the district in order to explain the position to the parents.
I think I heard the Minister say he is aware that a number of pupils are not attending this school. May I remind him that all of the pupils have not attended the school since 4th November? Does the Minister know that they have no intention of returning to the school in its present condition until such time as the Office of Public Works or the Department can tell them definitely when the new school will be started? Is the Minister aware of the condition of the present school? A trench five feet deep, approximately, was dug around it and filled with broken stones, bottles and glass to keep the rats away. That is the reason the parents kept their children away.
We cannot have a speech on this Question.
It is very important.
I know it is. Does the Deputy wish to put a question?
I am trying to inform the Minister of the position. This trench was filled with bottles and glass and stones to keep the rats out. The parents have decided that the children will not return to school until the Department step in and give them some other place in which the children may be taught in the meantime. Is the Minister prepared to do anything about this?
The Deputy is fairly accurate in what he says.
Very accurate.
I am aware of what needs to be done to rectify the situation. The working drawings for the new school are being prepared and the Commissioners of Public Works expect that the bill of quantities will be completed soon and tenders can be invited in January, 1969, so that building can be started in February. In the meantime, we made a suggestion that the local hall might be availed of as an interim measure. That suggestion is still open. It is the local parochial hall.
Was that suggestion made to the parents?
It was made to the manager.
I do not think it was communicated to the parents.
Ask the parents to ask the manager.
Could the Minister tell me exactly what length of time it takes to build a school?
Twenty years.
Four or five months. It will be started in early February anyway and it will be ready for the beginning of the school year next September.
There was a school built in the same district in ten months and it was supposed to be a record.
We are going to make new records now.
Assuming this school took the same length of time to build, it is quite possible that next winter we would have the same problem here in Corofin as we had in this one.
We will not have the same problem in Corofin national school next year because there will be a new national school in Corofin starting next September but in the meantime I would ask the Deputy to discuss the matter with local parents and the school manager with a view to making available the local parochial hall for interim classes. This would be a very constructive effort on the part of everybody concerned.
Question No. 32.
If they are out of the school and in a fairly good building this may put off the building of the new school.
If the Deputy would address himself to the basic core of the matter——
I am nearer to the core of it than the Minister.
In relation to this school, may I ask the Minister if there is any method of speeding up the preliminaries, say, from the Department to the Board of Works in regard to the acquisition of sites and all that kind of thing because there is really a big delay there I think?
I am glad the Deputy mentioned that because we have very recently established a special building division unit within the Department with architectural services which will ensure that at all levels, from primary up to university, buildings are organised in the proper way.
A survey of the number of schools required is carried out. Surely a lot of the work could be done within that division?