It is with great disappointment that I have to raise again the issue of the extension that is urgently needed for St. Colmcille's National School, The Quay, Westport. In recent months I have raised this matter many times with the Minister, having first raised it in February this year. The response from the Minister to date has been disappointing. The situation at the school is serious. The school was built in 1992 to cater for 150 pupils but the current enrolment is 182. This number is expected to increase to almost 200 in September. At present the school has six classrooms but some of the facilities, including the assembly hall and the principal's office, are being used for children with special needs. Several activities can no longer be carried out in the school because of the overcrowding. This case is a most urgent one. I have been contacted by the school's board of management, teachers and parents about this matter. As I pointed out a few months ago, the school is in the middle of a town, yet it has a large rural catchment area which has grown considerably in recent years. The management, teachers and parents are disappointed with the slow reaction of the Department. Instead of taking this extension stage by stage, the Minister should take a number of stages together. The necessary money should be approved immediately so that the school extension can be built. In that way it would be ready for September or, if not, then sometime later this year. What is happening at the moment amounts to stalling tactics by the Department.
I am led to believe there is a go-slow in the Department because no funding is in place for school extensions. There is a problem within the Department and the funding is not there. I would like the Minister to respond to that point. What is the up-to-date position with that school? Will it be grant aided? When can we expect work to start on the school extension? Those are the questions that parents are asking me. I will meet the board of management and parents in the next few weeks so I want to have the exact answers for them. I have tabled Parliamentary Questions but, while I mean no disrespect to your office, a Cheann Comhairle, the kind of replies I have received would not be acceptable to any public representative. It is embarrassing to have to convey them to the school's board of management, teachers and parents. I hope I will get good news from the Minister tonight. I want to receive an update on what is happening. I hope that funding will be put in place and that we will see action tomorrow so that neither parents nor their children will be worried about the position in future.
