I am grateful to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise on the Adjournment the matter of Scoil Mhuire agus Phádraig in Swinford. This is a mixed school of 520 pupils. There is a shortage of space in the school and there is no canteen. This is creating serious problems for pupils and staff and their families.
The pupils are obliged to leave the school area and go downtown in Swinford for their lunch. Swinford probably holds a record for having the greatest number of public houses for a town its size. Pupils used to go for their lunch to the multitude of public houses in the town. This has greatly upset the parents and the teachers. In the absence of a school canteen the pupils had no choice, and were being driven to eat in the public houses. That was their only option.
The school authorities were very anxious to sort this matter out. The teachers too were very unhappy with this unsatisfactory situation. They shared the parents' unease and their concern that the pupils should remain on the school grounds. The position has got particularly bad recently due to the new licensing laws. The pupils can no longer go to the pubs to eat, so they have nowhere to go. There is therefore a great need for a canteen in the school. The matter is acute and desperate.
There is also an acute shortage of classroom space in the school. Four years ago, the boarding school was vacated and given over to the school board on the express condition that it be used for the purpose of education of the school students. The building was in very bad condition and the school authorities repaired the roof out of their own funds. They had no choice. It cost them €35,000 but the work was essential because of the structural condition of the roof. The consulting engineer advised the school that if something was not done to repair it the building would certainly collapse. That was not acceptable. Not alone was the roof structurally unsound but it was also leaking. The school exhausted all its funds in the repair process and did not get a penny from the Government for these essential major works.
Approximately two years ago, the school applied to the Department of Education and Science for improvement works to be done on the school. The school submitted plans. It also applied to the Taoiseach's Department, because the Taoiseach, Deputy Ahern, had visited the school some years previously.
The necessary works comprise a canteen and recreation area on the second floor and three classrooms and a library on the ground floor, with a storage area on the second floor. The building to be converted, the old boarding school, is adjacent and joined to the existing school. Tobin Architects have costed the project at between €350,000 and €400,000. There is no need for planning permission as there is no change of usage for the building, a former boarding school. The canteen plan was added to the already submitted plan and replaces the recreation and tuck shop area previously applied for. It is in addition to the classroom space and storage area. This canteen plan conforms to all the latest health and safety legislation, as it should. It is urgently needed, as is the extra classroom space.
The Minister might outline the present situation, when funding can be expected, the amount of funding possible, and where the small jobs scheme can be applied in addition to the works noted. The school has put in €35,000 of its own funds and has exhausted those funds with no Government contribution. It now needs help for these essential improvements.
