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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2002

Vol. 554 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Schools Building Projects.

I thank you, Sir, and the Minister for taking this matter. Castledermot parish originally had four schools, located at Moone, Kilkea, Levitstown and Castledermot. In the 1950s and 1960s the then parish priest, Father Cotter, initiated the erection of four new schools in these areas. I was one of the first students to attend the school in Castledermot. Since then, Moone has been determined as a new parish by the Archbishop, thus Castledermot parish now has three schools, at Castledermot, Kilkea and Levitstown.

Regrettably, the school at Castledermot is no longer equipped to meet the needs of a modern day school. According to the Department's guidelines, it is only one third of the required size. Due to the small size of the existing site it is not possible to develop or obtain land adjacent to this, so there is an urgent need to acquire a new site.

The school has no proper facilities for the principal, who is attempting to operate in a small box room. The remedial teacher has no proper facilities. I understand the board of management has a grant application with the Department of Education and Science seeking funding to provide proper facilities for this very necessary medium of teaching. I ask that the Minister use his good offices to ensure that the application is addressed as a matter of urgency. There is no proper playground or physical education facilities at the school and despite the wonderful efforts of the teaching staff in attempting to provide games etc., it is very difficult to do so.

The other major concern is the proximity of the N9 national primary route to the school. This is a dangerous situation and despite the wonderful and exhaustive work of the traffic warden, there is concern by all the parents for the safety of their children due to the huge volume of traffic, including lorries and motor cars, passing the school each day. Every morning, lunch time and closing time creates a major headache for all concerned to ensure the safe passage of children to and from the school.

The board of management proposed three sites for Office of Public Works investigation, which were brought to the attention of the local authority, Kildare County Council, for its investigations and observations regarding planning, services and so on. I understand the local authority made the observation and recommendation that it is now imperative that the Department ensures the Office of Public Works acts in relation to the purchase of the favoured site.

The county development plan of the local authority states that there will be significant growth of the population of the Castledermot area over the next five years. I understand the Department's inspector has recommended a new school for Castledermot. Given that all the evidence strongly supports the provision of a new school, I therefore ask the Minister to ensure that the Department actively pursues this very important matter to secure an early solution.

It is not feasible from a safety and facility viewpoint for the teaching staff in the school to provide proper teaching and modern advancement for the children of the Castledermot area. It is imperative that the Department seeks the advice of the Office of Public Works on the problem with proceeding with a new site and to have it rectified as a matter of urgency. The N9 national primary route is adjacent to the school, which is located on a small three cornered site. It is not possible to buy land adjacent to it, nor is it feasible to continue to require that children must access the school under present circumstances.

There is a major problem with the provision of schooling at Castledermot. The board of management of the existing school took a lot of trouble to identify sites. There was contact with the Office of Public Works and the local authority but the Office of Public Works appears to be hedging its bets on the matter and is not advancing the necessary purchase of a site to ensure that Castledermot is provided with a proper school. I ask the Minister, as a matter or urgency, to investigate what is hindering the purchase of a site so that the planning and development of the proposed school can proceed.

The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, regrets he is unable to attend this debate, but he has asked me to make the following statement on his behalf. He is glad the Deputy has given him the opportunity to outline to the House the Department's current position regarding the acquisition of a site for a new school building for Scoil Diarmada, Castledermot, County Kildare.

At present, the school has a staffing level of a principal, eight mainstream classroom teachers, a shared learning support teacher and a shared resource teacher, both based at the school. The enrolment at 30 September 2001 was 277 pupils. The school's facilities consist of seven classrooms, one of which is a double staff room an administration office and Portakabin used by the learning support teacher. The property management section of the Office of Public Works is acting on behalf of the Department in relation to site acquisitions generally and is exploring the possibility of acquiring a site for Scoil Diarmada. The school authorities will be kept informed of developments.

The Department is fully committed to the provision of improved accommodation for Castledermot national school. I again thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the current position.

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