I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for the opportunity of raising this issue, which is one of considerable importance to the people of Loughshinny. Since I am dealing with an educational matter, a little geography and perhaps history might not go amiss. For the uninitiated, Loughshinny is a small village on the north Fingal coast, equidistant from the towns of Rush and Skerries. Loughshinny is right in the middle of one of the areas of the country with the most rapidly expanding population. To me, it is something of a forgotten jewel. It is a most picturesque and scenic spot. I am beginning to sound like Deputy O'Connor when talking about Tallaght, but one could not imagine any place more unlike Tallaght. I say that with every possible respect – I keep looking around in case Deputy O'Connor comes in behind me. I do not know whether the people will thank me for mentioning it because it is an absolute haven, a beacon of tranquillity in County Dublin, and long may it continue so.
Unfortunately, however, it has not gone untouched by the huge expansion in the greater Dublin area. The other morning I drove along the road near the local primary school and I counted 17 single houses being build within 400 yards of the school. This is the issue I want to raise, and I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity of doing so. St. Brendan's primary school moved into a new premises in 1989, at which time it had 167 pupils. That number remained more or less constant over ten years, but in the past four years it has suddenly increased by 25%, and the increase is expected to continue at least at this rate for the foreseeable future. In 1989 a magnificent new school premises was opened, with accommodation for six classrooms for those 167 pupils and their six teachers. Now, with 207 pupils, the school has no accommodation for 24 of its pupils and two teachers for next year.
One of the reasons Loughshinny managed to get its magnificent facility in 1989, which has unfortunately become outdated, was the very active and proud community in the village, which is very much a village between two large towns. This is reflected in a very active parents' association in the school. In light of the current difficulties, the parents' association has offered to pay for two prefabs to be placed on the school premises, but unfortunately, through some quirk of the administrative system, while the Department's permission was forthcoming, the permission of the school's patron, regrettably, was not. That is a matter for another day, however.
The current unusual and unfortunate situation is that the community is putting together the bones of a fundraising plan to realise between €20,000 and €22,500 to hire two prefab buildings for next September, while a resource room, which would more than adequately deal with the school's needs, can be built for €25,000. Even more unusually, this resource room was part and parcel of the original school plan in 1989. Its construction was deferred – this was prudent because the numbers did not justify it at the time – but now that we have the numbers as originally projected, we cannot get the building.
