The condition of St. Bridget's National School in Brownstown could be correctly described as Dickensian or close to it. The school was built in 1915. The only change since then is the addition of prefabs which are grossly overcrowded, with 36 pupils in accommodation designed for 26. The prefabs were bought secondhand and are now 26 years on the site.
There is no hot water in the school and no water in any classroom. Ninety-six boys have for their use one urinal and two toilets. Seventy-nine girls have four toilets between them. The electrical wiring is outdated and dangerous. The sewerage in the school is totally inadequate, and there are overflows on to the school yard where the children have to play. There is blue mould on every wall in the school. There is a restricted play area and, arising from this, there is on average one accident in the play area per day. Part of the playground is flooded from the month of October to the month of March.
Successive Ministers have repeatedly made false promises to management, to deputations and to Deputies of this House arising from the conditions in this school. If I were allowed by parliamentary rules to do so, I would describe these as bare-faced lies by various Ministers to the people I have mentioned. I know I am not allowed to describe it in that way in the House, so I cannot do so.
Deputy Noel Davern, the former Minister, met a deputation during his short tenure as Minister and he described the school as the worst school in the country. He said it would have top priority in all of the Twenty-six Counties for any money that would become available to him during his period in office. During that time money did become available to him but Brownstown was not included in the allocation. There was shock, outrage and anger expressed by the parents, the staff and the management arising from this further false promise.
The people in the area have been too quiet for too long and the staff have now, through the INTO — and I would like to congratulate the INTO on their very firm action in this regard — been forced to go on strike at the end of this month against the conditions in the school in which they are forced to work. The parents are withdrawing their children from the school next Tuesday.
The county medical officer has condemned the school as unfit and the fire officer has described it as a fire hazard and has said that it should be closed. Lo and behold, arising from the actions of parents, the county medical officer and the fire officer, and the threat of strike by the staff, a senior officer of the Department is to visit the school next Tuesday, the same date as the children are being withdrawn from the school. I want to assure the Minister — and I am sure the Minister present will tell the Minister for Education — that the people of Brownstown, the parents of Brownstown and the staff of the school will not be fobbed off again. We want action now.
Maybe it is a good omen that the Minister for action is here to reply to my remarks. Possibly the Minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works is here because he intends to do something. We want action this year. We want bricks and mortar. We do not want talk of tenders or drawings or stages and all the other rubbish that the people in Brownstown have put up with since they first bought their site in 1980. We now want action and a political decision that action will be taken. We will not accept blame being placed on officials for the delay. This is the year that work must start on building a school in Brownstown. On behalf of the parents, the staff and the pupils I want to say we will not accept any less than that.
