Thank you very much, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment, I have been trying to do so for the last week. This is a matter of great importance. It is amazing that in the last election, health was the major issue focused on. Apparently, the Minister, Deputy Ray Burke, was annoyed with RTE for constantly raising that issue during the election campaign. I would disagree and say the major issue in the last election, certainly in my constituency, was education; it still is the major issue and is one that packs halls regularly.
Many aspects of education are being very slowly dealt with by the Minister — the pupil-teacher ratio, remedial teaching and disadvantaged areas — but one major issue that has not been highlighted or dealt with is the effect on schools of the lack of caretakers and secretaries. This problem has existed since the embargo came into effect in 1983 and the position has become worse since 1985 when the Government decided to use the SES as an alternative to caretakers. It was never intended that that scheme would be used to provide full-time permanent jobs. It was not fulfilling the duties of caretakers because the work was being carried out on a part-time basis.
As a result of the lack of caretakers, schools have become run-down and deteriorated and vandalism is increasing at great cost to the State. I will quote from two recent articles which show these problems, arise in both primary and post-primary schools but I am dealing mainly with primary schools. The Evening Herald of 24 May stated:
The chairman of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools, Bro. M.A. McGrath, said the exterior and interior fabric of many schools was deteriorating at an alarming rate.
This is due to the fact that they cannot afford to carry out the necessary repairs and maintenance to many of the older schools. This results from the lack of caretakers. The Sunday Press of 3 June, 1990, in an article entitled “Vandal crisis hits unguarded schools” by Peter Tesch reported that:
The condition of many schools in urban areas is deteriorating since there is no caretaker or only a part-time one employed through the Social Employment Scheme, to maintain the school. As a result school Boards of Management are faced with rising insurance bills which have to be paid from already restricted budgets. It is not uncommon, says John White,
—President of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation—
to see a principal unblocking the toilets, boarding up vandalised windows or paying out of their own pockets for paint to do the school.
I could also quote from letters from school managers — the Minister will be aware of these because they have been sent to her as well — where they outline appalling conditions in schools. Many of these schools are in my constituency. There are schools in Dublin south-west, and I am sure in many other urban areas around the country, where the children when they come to school in the mornings find used condoms and excrement all over the school yard. One of the principals pointed out that children, particularly those in junior classes, to the horror of teachers, have unwittingly handled used condoms. One can understand at present because of the risk of AIDS etc. the enormous dangers to children and the danger to health that exists as a result of lack of cleaning in school yards.
The job of the principal is to look after the educational aspects of the school, to put his educational stamp on that school and to give pupils a sense of dignity, self-esteem and pride in themselves. Instead of that, he has to go around cleaning school yards, boarding up windows, sweeping up glass after windows have been smashed as a result of vandalism, he has to do plumbing repairs, clean blocked drains and toilets, lock doors and gates, cut grass, repair forced doors, replace bulbs and light fuses. That is a sample taken from a survey in the Clondalkin area and I am sure that is the case in many schools throughout the country. This is the type of job that either the chairman, the manager or the principal of the school must attend to.
I should like to quote from the Minister's speech in the Seanad on Wednesday, 6 June regarding free education where she said:
The State undertakes to provide for free primary education, A local contribution towards school running-costs, equivalent to at least 25 per cent of the capitation grant, must be lodged annually to each school's bank account.
That means the State provides free primary education. In fact, the Constitution states the State must provide free primary education but the Minister says that 25 per cent must be paid by the local management of schools. That is not free primary education. The Minister in one of her replies to the teachers suggested that the school management should be able to provide the money for a school caretaker. It is absolutely impossible for parents in these areas to provide sufficient money for that.
To summarise, I am saying that school buildings are inadequately maintained and that they are going into a state of disrepair. Principals are spending an inordinate amount of time on maintenance and secretarial duties. Teaching principals — there are some principals who have teaching duties as well — have to bear the additional responsibility of full-time teaching and are unable to do that because of the attention required for emergency plumbing or caretaking. Inadequate maintenance of school buildings is not cost effective. Incidents of vandalism would be mitigated by the presence of school caretakers on the school premises. Well-maintained buildings and prompt attention to repairs give a pride in the school and in the local environment.
This is one of the most important things in the school area at present which is being neglected. We are thinking all the time of insufficient remedial teachers but without the caretakers and the secretaries — I am talking particularly about caretakers — the whole environment of the school is run down and is damaging the educational prospects of the children in these schools.
