I regret very much having to raise this issue on the Adjournment tonight but, as with other Departments, if I had been able to get the information I requested I would not have had to bring the Minister in here, to take up his time and the time of the House.
The schools which I wish to discuss here tonight are three primary schools, Ardkeenan, Brideswell and Curraghboy. The first two require extensions, the third is a case of a new school which has been promised for that area and for which a site has been obtained for 20 years. Over the past 12 months planning permission has been granted. Plans have been drawn up for the school and submitted to the Department. Curraghboy national school is in deplorable condition. It is an old school and improvement works have not been carried out for many years. The roof is leaking, it is overcrowded and it has absolutely diabolical conditions for the education of children. I want to know from the Minister tonight when work on this school will commence.
I appreciate the many demands on the Department for funding of new schools but surely a school that has been at the planning stage for so many years must, at this stage, have reached the top of the list. I would like to know if this school will get approval in the 1993 programme. I know there is no hope of having it started this year but I request the Minister to ensure that it is at the top of the list in 1993.
The other school which I referred to, and which is awaiting an extension, is Brideswell national school. Because of a growth in population in that area, an additional teacher was appointed three weeks ago but that teacher is now teaching in a community centre a mile away from the national school. In other words, some of the pupils attend Brideswell primary school, while others are going to the community centre. That is most undesirable. What is required here is an additional classroom.
As I understand it, planning permission has been granted and the plans for the extension were submitted to the Department as far back as last January. The Department officials visited the site, met with the school manager and verbally gave a commitment that the classroom would be built in 1992. Certain officials in the Minister's Department have changed and, as of this week, the manager of that school has not got a written commitment that this classroom will be built. This situation in a rural area, where the infants are being taught a mile away from brothers and sisters who are in higher classes, is totally undesirable. I am asking the Minister to give a clear commitment that the school will be approved immediately.
The third school which I referred to is Ardkeenan national school which was built in 1935 but no improvements have been made since. The local community has collected the local contribution which is necessary to carry out the funding of this project. Plans have been drawn up and submitted to the Department and I had the pleasure of meeting Department officials on the site some 18 months ago. Unfortunately, nothing has happened since.
Ardkeenan school is in very bad repair. Slates are falling off the roof, posing a real danger to children in stormy conditions, as well as allowing in the rain. There are outside toilets which in this day and age are totally unsatisfactory. It is a school which is experiencing a growth in population because the area is adjacent to Athlone and there is a spill-over of population from Athlone. An extension is urgently required. Those are three primary schools in the south Roscommon area.
I appeal to the Minister to use his good offices to ensure that funding is approved for the extensions to Ardkeenan and Brideswell and for a new school in Curraghboy. The site in Curraghboy was acquired some 20 years ago but nothing has been done to erect a new school. The conditions in the old school in Curraghboy have got to the stage where they cannot be tolerated any longer by parents, teachers and management. I ask the Minister to give a commitment on the extensions to Ardkeenan and Brideswell and for a new school in Curraghboy.