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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Feb 1992

Vol. 415 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Carrick-on-Shannon (Leitrim) School Project.

The Department of Education sanctioned a new vocational school for Carrick-on-Shannon in 1967 but did not allow building to commence. The Department adopted a policy in 1970 in favour of providing a community school in the town. This was not acceptable to the Marist Sisters, to the Presentation Brothers or to County Leitrim vocational education committee the three parties involved in post-primary education in the town.

In 1973 the Presentation Brothers and the Marist Sisters merged their schools and established Marymount College which has a current enrolment of more than 330 pupils.

For the past 25 years, since the new vocational school was sanctioned but cancelled, staff and students at Carrick-on-Shannon vocational school have been forced to work under appalling, grossly inadequate and unhealthy conditions.

The original school, built in 1935, had five classrooms and was situated on a quarter acre site. Enrolment during the past 12 years has grown from 161 to about 330. At present Carrick-on-Shannon vocational school is scattered over 13 separate buildings on six independent sites, most of them rented. If the headmaster wished to visit all of the classrooms he would have to go outdoors 13 times and walk approximately two miles. Pupils are continually on the move and may be forced to change classrooms four or five times a day. In bad weather, therefore, each student will get wet several times a day. There is no shelter apart from classrooms. The prefabricated classrooms are now almost 25 years old. They are falling to pieces. Despite continuing maintenance and expenditure they are now completely unsuitable.

The TUI recently submitted a list of demands for improvements and have given strike notice to Leitrim vocational education committee. They are seeking a shelter for students, proper toilet facilities and a staffroom.

I visited the school recently and found the conditions there deplorable. This House enacted the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act in 1989. I consider it scandalous that resources have not been made available to schools such as that at Carrick-on-Shannon in order to enable them to comply with the minimum requirements of that legislation.

I know that the Programme for Economic and Social Progress was to make provision of £4 million in 1992 to upgrade unsatisfactory school buildings. I ask the Minister to urgently consider the making of an allocation from that source as a stop-gap measure to alleviate the more serious problems and avert the threatened TUI strike. I know that a large number of primary and post primary schools would wish to draw from the same well, but there is no doubt in my mind that Carrick-on-Shannon vocational school has an exceptional case.

It is clear from consideration of the public capital programme that the level of expenditure proposed for post-primary building is completely inadequate. During the past three years expenditure on school buildings at second level has fallen from £27 million per year to £11 million per year. In view of the number of areas where rationalisation has been agreed and having regard to the substandard nature of the buildings in hundreds of post-primary schools, I consider the proposed level of expenditure on school buildings in 1992 to be grossly inadequate.

For more than 20 years the Department of Education have been in favour of providing a new community school in Carrick-on-Shannon. The Marist Sisters who operated Marymount college have been in agreement with this policy since 1975 but county Leitrim vocational education committee did not agree to that development until 1989. The former Minister for Education, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, met a delegation from County Leitrim vocational education committee on 4 May 1989 during which she indicated a three year time scale for a new community school in Carrick-on-Shannon if the vocational education committee would accept the proposal. The committee members who were present at that meeting brought back to Carrick-on-Shannon the message that a new community school would be built within three years. County Leitrim vocational education committee own a valuable site in Carrick-on-Shannon which was bought to accommodate the vocational school project approved 25 years ago. The vocational education committee agreed to transfer that site free of charge to the Minister on the understanding that the building of the new community school would commence within the three year time scale indicated by Minister O'Rourke.

Sadly, despite the urgency of the situation in Carrick-on-Shannon, progress to date has been disappointing and a number of major stages, such as the bill of quantities, working drawings, preparation of tender documents and so on, have still to be completed. It would be not too far off the mark to state that the Department of Education are allowing planning to proceed only at a snail's pace. Progress to date is not consistent with a three year time scale. There is an urgent necessity to proceed immediately with the construction of the new community school in Carrick-on-Shannon and I would ask the Minister and the Government to give priority to the development and make the required resources available immediately.

I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Education who is grateful for the opportunity to respond to the matter raised by Deputy Reynolds with regard to the vocational school in Carrick-on-Shannon. The Minister is aware of the condition of the existing school buildings in Carrick-on-Shannon and is fully committed to having the proposed new community school building provided as soon as possible in order to alleviate the accommodation problems in both schools in the town.

In order to clarify the position I will give some brief details on the background to this project. The reorganisation of second level facilities in the town, involving Carrick-on-Shannon vocational school and Marymount College, has been an issue for a number of years. Following agreement at local level the planning of a new community school was initiated in 1989 on the basis of providing 550 pupil places in the new building. An education work sheet was completed by the school authorities and a schedule of accommodation was drawn up for the school. However, as with all such major projects in planning, it was necessary in 1990 to carry out a detailed review of the proposals in view of declining demographic trends which have become evident throughout the country.

A review of the figures by the Department of Education suggested that the capacity of the school be reduced to 500 and that planning proceed on that basis. Subsequently it was decided that the original enrolment capacity of 550 should stand to ensure pupil places for a six year cycle and VPTP courses. Accordingly, a revised schedule of accommodation for 550 pupils issued to the design team in November 1990. The new building will be located on the site which is owned by the vocational education committee. Transfer of this site to the Minister for Education will be necessary.

The document on the first stage of planning was submitted to the Department of Education by the design team in November 1990 and was examined by departmental technical and professional advisers. Following discussions with the design team, approval was given to proceed to the next stage of planning in July 1991. The submission on this stage is expected from the design team fairly soon.

The Minister fully appreciates the difficulties currently affecting Carrick-on-Shannon vocational school and the anxieties expressed by teachers and parents of pupils attending the school. The Minister is satisfied that the most practical and feasible way to deal with the problem is to ensure that no effort will be spared in providing the community school to cater for all the pupils of the Carrick-on-Shannon area at the earliest possible time. The Department of Education will be pressing ahead with this project.

Carrick-on-Shannon is a beautiful town and I hope they will be able to get a school appropriate to the needs of that very attractive town.

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