Deputy Flanagan has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment the question of the extension of Maryborough national school, Portlaoise.
Adjournment Debate. - Portlaoise National School Extension.
I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. It is my intention to share my time with my constituency colleague, Deputy Hyland.
There is a small point. With regard to intentions like that, the permission of the House should be sought. Agreed? Agreed.
This is not perhaps the most earth-shattering item which a national parliament might debate. Nevertheless, I welcome the opportunity of using this forum to raise a matter that is of considerable importance to many people in the town and environs of Portlaoise. The Minister of State, from his records, will be aware that this has been an ongoing matter since, I believe, early 1980. I need not spell out to him the number of Ministers who have held the Education portfolio since February of 1980 when the matter was first raised by the board of management. I would hope that the present incumbents of the office of Minister and Minister of State will be the last people to handle this matter and that we will see building commence as soon as possible.
Maryborough national school was built in the year 1879. It was duly extended in 1964 but that extension took the form of the building of toilet facilities and extension of the yard area. In February 1980 the board of management decided to seek the aid of the Department of Education in pressing for a badly needed extension. I understand that the grant was unofficially sanctioned in October of 1985 but to date the board of management and concerned parents are awaiting commencement of work on the school. The present facilities comprise two rooms, a junior room which has at present 22 pupils and a senior room which has at present 32 boys and girls in an area of approximately 300 sq. ft. My understanding of departmental guidelines with regard to space and gudelines that insurance companies endorse is that in old schools it is recommended that each pupil be allocated 11 sq. ft. of space and in the newer, more modern schools that 15 sq. ft. be allocated to each pupil. That we have 32 primary school pupils in a space of 300 sq. ft. is an indictment. Further, there is considerable hardship imposed on pupils and teachers alike as it is necessary for senior pupils seeking toilet facilities to pass through another classroom constantly, thus upset the junior cycle class.
When one considers the vast increase in population in Portlaoise town and its environs over the past ten years, one can see that the facilities are not adequate for 1988. The present population is over 12,000 people. It is a town which has expanded far more than other provincial towns in Leinster over that time. If the Department of Education are reluctant to sanction the necessary grant aid for the extension and fear that this is a school which may suffer from lack of pupils in time to come and that their investment will not be realised, I would like to join with the board of management in allaying those fears. At present there are 54 pupils in the school. In September of 1988 it is expected that there will be a further 11 pupils coming in and six pupils leaving for secondary school, giving a net gain of five pupils. In 1990, as the Minister is aware, it is estimated that there will be 69 pupils in the two-room school, which speaks for itself.
On the question of cost, one is talking about a total sum, I understand, of £42,000 to complete the necessary works of one classroom and the construction of a boiler house. The board of management and the parents recognise that money is not as plentiful as far as Government Departments are concerned as perhaps was the case in the past. They realise that Government grants are not hand-outs and that they must not be applied for just for the sake of applying. Everybody in the State is making an effort to engage in a certain amount of belt tightening. With that in mind, they have embarked over the past number of years on a fairly comprehensive fund raising programme. With regard to the present grant system for such extensions the Minister of State will agree that the local contribution is usually in the order of 12½ per cent of the total works, leaving a balance of the order of seven-eighths to be provided by way of State aid. In this case the management committee and parents since 1982 have raised a total sum of £17,000 which, if placed against the overall cost of £42,000, would leave the board of management seeking a sum of £25,000 from the State. All credit must be given to the board for raising over 40 per cent of the estimated cost. That would underline to the Minister and the Minister of State the urgent need which parents and the board see for extended facilities.
I should like to impress on the Minister of State the need to have this work commenced as quickly as possible. The campaign was first started over eight years ago. The parents and teachers, the board of management, all interested parties, are very concerned that this matter should not drag on any longer. The title to the property is in order, planning permission has been obtained and the plans have been agreed, so there is little else but to have the final and formal sanction of the Department for the payment of funds. When one considers the allocation of £6.5 million by the Minister for Finance in October, it is not unfair for the board of management of this school to expect that priority might be given to allocating a sum of £25,000, which I understand would set matters in motion.
I thank the Minister of State for coming here this evening as I realise he has a busy schedule. I hope the Minister will see fit to grant this money. I will now allow Deputy Hyland to come in for the remainder of my time.
I acknowledge the fact that Deputy Flanagan has allowed me time to support the case in relation to the provision of additional classroom accommodation for the Church of Ireland school in Portlaoise. I realise that there are many applications with the Department for new schools and extensions and I am realistic enough to acknowledge that the availability of funds for capital projects such as schools is limited. It must also be said that the Reverend Canon Day, director at Portlaoise, and the school board have displayed by their toerance, their acceptance that funds are scarce. The patience they have displayed since the date of their first application in the face of the many setbacks and disappointments which have been associated with the application is something which cannot be ignored.
We are talking about an emergency in the town of Portlaoise. We are talking about gross overcrowding and all the problems associated with that. The school board have been content to negotiate in a reasonable manner with the Department through all channels of communication open to them and through the balanced political representations of both Deputy Flanagan and myself. Their patience is now becoming exhausted. They have tried every reasonable means at their disposal to find a solution.
We are not talking about a very large sum of money. The school management board raised from the community a sum far beyond that which would normally be expected. It is to their credit and it is an indication of their commitment and of their anxiety to provide educational facilities for the primary students in the Portlaoise area. All we are asking for tonight is for the Government to see their way to providing £25,000. The Minister will agree that this is a very small sum from public funds to provide an urgently needed facility for the Church of Ireland community in the capital town of my county.
I acknowledge the courtesy which the Minister has displayed to me over the past 12 months. I have been harassing him on a weekly basis for a solution. I know he is as anxious as I am to find a speedy solution. On many occasions I spoke with senior officials in the Department as they also displayed an anxiety to find the solution. I hope the outcome of our deliberations tonight in the presence of the Minister will be that the solution will be found. The solution is simple. It is the provision of £25,000 or thereabouts.
We in this House have a duty to ensure that we provide for the needs of primary education in Portlaoise. Much dedication has been displayed by the school management board and the community have made a positive financial commitment. It is not asking too much of the Minister and the Department to provide the small sum of money necessary to get the project off the ground. I hope he will provide the money so that the project can get off the ground as quickly as possible.
I join with Deputy Flanagan in thanking the Minister for coming to the House tonight. I know he is very familiar with the problem and that he has shown a desire to solve it. The Minister has dealt with the people in Portlaoise in a courteous manner over the months and we hope tonight we will get a permanent solution.
I thank both Deputies for their contribution on this school. I am aware of the very poor condition of the school and of the urgent need for improvements. At the request of Deputy Hyland I went to see the school one evening when I was passing through Portlaoise and I readily agree that it is in urgent need of repair. The school caters for 54 pupils and a staff of two, including the principal. The accommodation consists of two permanent classrooms erected in 1887. They are small and unsatisfactory. A number of schemes for improved accommodation have been under consideration in the Department in consultation with the school authorities. The proposal at present under examination is one for the provision of a new permanent classroom linked to the existing school building. Tenders for this project have been received.
I accept that accommodation in the existing school is unsatisfactory but Deputies will appreciate the present financial constraints in relation to the primary school building programme. The Department's difficulties are compounded by the large number of projects in respect of which school authorities are seeking grant assistance. One of the main problems is that each school feels strongly about its own case. The task of the Department is to allocate limited moneys over as wide an area as possible in line with an objective assessment of the relative urgency of the cases in hand.
The school authorities made certain proposals to the Department in relation to the grant, if the project were approved for contract, which have been mentioned by both Deputies here this evening. I accept that Deputy Hyland has harassed me almost on a weekly basis over the past 12 months about this school. At his request I spoke to Canon Day on the telephone some months ago and assured him of my commitment to finding a solution so that we can proceed with this proposal. I have asked my Department to consider this matter urgently in the light of the overall financial situation in relation to the primary schools building programme and having regard to the large number of projects on hand. I readily accept that the school authorities and all the local interests feel strongly that the project should be allowed to proceed to contract, particularly in view of the length of time the matter has been under consideration.
Much as I would like to I am unable at this stage to give the assurances sought but I can assure all concerned that I am sympathetic to the problems of the school and I promise to have the case examined urgently having regard to the difficult financial situation. In view of the interest of both Deputies I will communicate with them when this examination has been completed.
The Dáil stands adjourned——
Acting Chairman——
Acting Chairman
The Minister of State has replied and I am afraid I cannot allow——
I would just like to say that I am very disappointed with the reply of the Minister of State. I ask him to give his full attention to this matter over the next few weeks because it is a serious problem. Next September there will be five extra students and the school finds itself in serious difficulty.
The Dáil adjourned at 8.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 20 April 1988.