asked the Minister for Finance if he has received a report on the condition of the primary school in Castlebar, County Mayo, which was built eight years ago and at which there is a teachers' strike in progress; if he will list the defects found; and how soon it is expected that all the defects will be remedied.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mayo School.
18.
The school in question, which was built in 1963-64, has a septic tank system of sewage disposal while water is obtained from a well on the site which is 42 feet deep. It has been discovered that the water supply is contaminated and investigations which were carried out suggest that the principal, if not the sole cause of the trouble, arises from the fact that the drains were not properly laid by the builder who erected the school. They were not jointed or bedded as they should have been and as a result the sewage from the school toilets seeped into the soil and affected the water supply. The drains have been relaid properly but, unfortunately, the contamination of the water supply still persists and may continue for some time. The water can be used for the flushing of the toilets but not for drinking or washing purposes. The Commissioners are continuing their investigations into the question of how best the situation might be remedied but, unfortunately, in the circumstances, it is not a simple matter.
As an interim measure, the Commissioners have arranged to have supplies of water for drinking and washing purposes supplied regularly to tanks which have been provided at the school and this arrangement will, I hope, be acceptable to the teachers and parents concerned. The Commissioners also propose, subject to the concurrence of the local medical officer of health, to have a porcelain candle filter fitted to the supply pipe from the well. This filter would, I am advised, be capable of removing all pathogenic organisms from the water. I appreciate, of course, that there might still be reluctance to use the filtered water for drinking purpose but there should be no hesitation about its use for other purposes.
It has been suggested that a new well should be sunk on another part of the school site. The Commissioners would have this done at once if they could be sure that the supply from that source would not also prove to be affected by the sewage permeation of the soil as the present well is. The site, I should point out, is restricted in size and it is not possible to say what the sub-surface conditions are.
Apart from the water supply difficulty, I am advised that conditions at the school are satisfactory.
In conclusion, I must say that nobody regrets more than the Commissioners and I do that the situation which I have outlined should have arisen.
Have the Commissioners any recourse against the builder and when is it expected the teachers will give a decision about resuming work?
I hope the teachers will return now as a result of what we have done. The question of a legal remedy against the contractor who built the school was raised and, if we could have legal redress, we certainly would, but I have been advised that such a remedy is not available to us. I understand the contractor is not in the business any more. May I say I am glad this sort of thing does not happen very often.