I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for providing me with an opportunity to highlight for the House the crisis — and I use the word advisedly — in regard to the lack of post primary places for the children of Swords and surrounding areas in the coming years. The situation in Swords is so bad that parents of the children anxious to gain places in St. Finian's College in September next recently took part in an all night vigil in sub-zero temperatures to ensure that their children would get places in the school. Even after that vigil up to 70 children had to be put on a waiting list as there were insufficient places. A statement from the Minister's Department said that places would be available in Swords for the next year, giving no indication whatsoever as to how and where such places were to be found. This merely rubbed salt into the wounds of those parents who had queued in those sub-zero temperatures, and that is the parents' view of it.
The situation in the Christian Brothers school in Swords is equally bad as that at St. Finian's College. The Loreto Order, who are about to build a convent school in Swords, are at present trying to accommodate Swords children in North Great George's Street. Therefore, they are in the same situation.
To give the House an indication of the scale of the problem I should like to quote some figures. In the primary schools in Swords in 1985 there will be 288 children leaving school; in 1986, 331; in 1987, 311; in 1988, 305; and in 1989, 336. The post primary schools in Swords do not just cater for the town of Swords. They cater also for the catchment area of quite a list of primary schools and villages and towns surrounding Swords. For example, the national schools in St. Margaret's, Corduff, Donabate, Lusk, Garristown, Ballyboghil, Rolestown, Kilcosken, Hedgestown, Oldtown and Rivermeade are the other schools servicing the post primary schools in Swords. The total in those schools — that is Swords and those other primary schools — is 554. There will be 554 children seeking post primary places in 1985, 537 in 1986, 509 in 1987, 525 in 1988 and 661 in 1989. To meet that demand this year there are only 306 places available to meet 554 children seeking post primary places. For example, St. Finian's can take only 165 children, the CBS can take approximately 90 and Loreto Convent 51.
Swords is an expanding town which at present has a population of approximately 15,000. It is estimated that the population will rise to about 22,000 by 1991. There was a study done by the eastern regional organisation and, if the rumours regarding its outcome are to be believed, the town's population will grow to approximately 100,000 before the turn of the century.
The figures which I have given to the House have been available to the Minister and yet she has made no effort to provide places for the children of Swords. As far back as 1981, my colleague, the then Minister for Education, Deputy Wilson, following representations from me, recognised the need for a new school in Swords. However, no positive action was taken in that regard and the problem has now reached crisis proportions.
We had a similar situation in Portmarnock recently but apparently the Minister responds only to crises. I know that a meeting will take place tomorrow in the Department between the various interested parties, but the parents will not be represented and I wish to state their case. They want a new school in Swords, providing proper education with a full range of subjects. The Department's suggestion to extend St. Finian's by 200 pupils, the CBS by 150 pupils and a convent, not yet built, by 250 pupils, is just not on. If those proposals were adopted it would mean that there would be 1,000 teenagers on the campus of St. Finian's which would be bad educationally and socially. There are insufficient specialist rooms — for example, there are 400 children seeking 20 places available in the home economics class.
The CBS is a school of temporary buildings and the Loreto convent is not yet built. The Minister is not taking this matter seriously. I call on her now to provide a new school for Swords, to set up a task force immediately of architects, planners and educationalists to ensure that a school will be provided within two years so that pupils will not have to depend on temporary accommodation. In the meantime I ask the Minister to meet the needs of Swords by providing proper quality temporary accommodation pending the construction of the new school. I also ask the Minister to proceed with the construction of the physical education hall for St. Finian's College as a whole generation have left that school without physical education being provided.
