Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 25 Feb 1999

Vol. 501 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Schools Building Projects.

Mr. Rabbitte

St. Killian's senior national school in Kingswood in my constituency has been seeking provision of a general purposes room and ancillary accommodation since 1986. Successive Governments have neglected to respond to this genuine need, if the school's curriculum is to be professionally applied. We are not talking about an optional extra but a necessary basic facility.

My figures for St. Killian's, subject to correction, suggest an enrolment of 429 pupils in September 1998. This is a large school in a growing community where additional housing is ongoing with more families at the family formation stage. Yet all applications for physical education, library, medical and other basic facilities have been refused. Surely traditional explanations relating to constraints on the capital budget do not apply in the context of current public finances.

Most recently I raised this issue with the Minister for Education and Science on 9 February 1999 when the Minister explained that "general purpose rooms were excluded and priority had to be given to the provision of essential classroom accommodation". He was not, however, "in a position to give a commitment in respect of a major project in the school". This is profoundly disappointing, given the scale of the need.

Further, I am puzzled by the official response to the most recent application from the school which I am informed was to the effect that the application for a general purpose area would be considered if the school sought classrooms also. I am not sure of the implications of the statement. It seems that if the school is not pressing for extra classrooms but is desperately seeking a general purposes room, it makes good sense to respond to the request being made. The children in this school, their parents and staff have functioned for 13 years with nothing but classrooms. Surely the time has come, especially in times of propitious public finances, to redress the situation and permit the provision of an appropriate general purposes area.

Mr. Hayes

I take this opportunity to put on record the completely inadequate education facilities that currently exist in St. Killian's senior school, Kingswood, Tallaght. The Minister should be well aware of the needs of this school given the constant barrage of representations his office has received from all public representatives in Dublin South-West.

St. Killian's is typical of many schools that were built during a time of limited financial resources. By any standard, it is time for the Department of Education and Science to provide adequate funding to allow the school provide the basic facilities that are not in place at present.

The school applied on 19 November last year for specific capital works to take place. This latest application for funding followed countless attempts down the years by the board of management of St. Killian's to improve its education environment. To date, the continuous applications for funding to the Department have, unfortunately, fallen on deaf ears. The school is regularly informed that other priority projects within the Department must take precedence over its needs.

Following the Minister's recent announcement concerning substantially increased funding for capital projects, the time is right to improve the facilities at St. Killian's senior school. This debate gives me, Deputy Rabbitte and my colleagues the opportunity to highlight to the Minister and the Department the chronic conditions under which teachers must work in this school.

For a school the size of St. Killian's it is disgraceful that no general purpose area exists within the confines of the school. It would be unimaginable to design a modern school without the provision of such an area. Without this facility, St. Killian's can only provide PE on an irregular and infrequent basis. It is not good enough that open space grass areas around the school provide the only opportunity for children to play or engage in PE. It is also worth highlighting that other on-site activities associated with a normal school, such as drama lessons, parent teacher meetings, school concerts and religious services, cannot take place due to the lack of a general purpose area.

In the school's recent application to the Department, the board of management highlighted the lack of staff toilet facilities in the school. Indeed, I was astonished to discover when I visited the school recently that toilets for disabled, wheelchair bound persons were not there. I would have considered it normal in the context of a modern school that a good remedial teaching room would exist to help children with learning difficulties. The relevant room at St. Killian's has been described by the board of management as "a closet facility". Equally, there is not a facility or room for visiting teachers to provide children with specialist skills and knowledge. It is also unacceptable that the school does not have a library or a facility to encourage parents to engage in the life of the school through the provision of a parents' room.

These facilities are essential ingredients in the efficient provision of modern education. The deficiencies at St. Killian's relate to the fact that the school was built during difficult financial times. The board of management, staff and pupils are not looking for an educational environment above the facilities that exist in other schools. They simply seek basic minimum improvements for their school.

It is now opportune to concentrate on the provision of facilities and services in education which mirror our belief in the primacy of education for the future success of the country. This school needs the financial support of the Department to allow it to improve its facilities for its pupils.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. Treacy)

I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. It affords me the opportunity to clarify the position regarding the provision of additional accommodation at St. Killian's senior school at Kingswood.

This school was built in 1987 with ten classrooms. A three classroom extension was built in 1989 and a further two classrooms were added in 1991. The school currently has a staffing of a principal, 13 assistant teachers and a remedial teacher. The enrolment was 411 pupils in September 1998. Management of the school has recently renewed its application for grant assistance for the provision of a general purpose room and ancillary accommodation.

The school was built in the late 1980s and was provided with the standard facilities at that time. However, due to the severe financial difficulties during that period, general purpose rooms were excluded and priority had to be given to the provision of essential classroom accommodation. The Department is currently re-examining the accommodation requirements of St. Killian's school in light of the recent application. When this work has been completed, the Department will be in further contact with the school management.

I agree that there is a need to provide the most modern facilities possible in all schools. Within the exigencies of the Department's budget we do our best to ensure that will happen, as all Governments have done. The education ethos in this country is extremely strong. To ensure that we minimise expenditure on professional fees and so forth with regard to design matters, the Department likes to ensure that when it provides facilities it will provide more than one per school. For that reason, stand alone additions such as a single room are seldom encouraged or supported. Given that other accommodation is required at this school, the Deputies can be assured that the Department will give its utmost attention to resolving the matter as quickly as possible.