I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise the issue of the dire conditions at Lauragh national school, Killarney, County Kerry. While the postal address is Killarney, the school is situated just outside Kenmare. Lauragh national school is 141 years old and the original roof is still in place. Every year, slates are blown off the roof in stormy weather and temporary repair works have to be carried on a regular basis.
In November 2001, the board of management of Lauragh national school applied to the Department of Education and Science for major capital improvement works funding to carry out a number of developments at the school. However, when it received no funding, the board of management, in September of this year, went so far as to postpone its application for a school extension for the moment, in an attempt to speed up the grant to repair the roof and make the playground safe.
It is a tremendous shame that the school had to take this step in the hope that the roof and playground would be prioritised. It is a damning indictment of the Government and its attitude to the conditions in our schools that this school decided to drop the bulk of its application for funding in the hope that this would expedite funding for the most dangerous aspects of the school building. It is a very poor reflection on the Minister and the Government that, because of spending cutbacks, schools are being forced to prioritise projects even though all of them are very critical to make the school and its grounds a safe place for pupils and staff alike.
I will describe the condition of the roof. Most of the battens in the roof are rotten, the slate nails are under stress and the slightest pressure can cause slates to be hurtled of the roof and onto the playground below, to the danger of pupils in the school yard This is not just my assessment. These are the words of an engineer who has surveyed the condition of the roof. The roof leaks where there are gaps, there is no felt underlying the slates because of the age of the school and there is no way to apply felt unless the roof is stripped away entirely.
In conclusion, the engineer reports, the whole roof has reached disintegration point, and the feasible option is to completely strip away and replace the slates and timber with brand new materials. In its present condition, she continues, it is only a matter of time before the leakages become much worse, and more important, falling slates could cause very serious injury. The situation is so grave at present that the insurance company has threatened to withdraw insurance for the school yard unless the area is made safe for children to play in.
How can the Government justifying denying funding to carry out basic and very essential repairs? How can it justify the exclusion of this work from the school building programme for 2003? Will the Minister give me a commitment this evening that the resources will be provided to have the roof on Lauragh national school replaced immediately and have the playground made safe? The 31 pupils in this small rural school and their teachers and parents deserve answers.
