Citizenship Applications.

Mr. Feighan

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, to the House. It is good to have someone from the north west here.

This is a delicate issue and unfortunately I have had to resort to a matter on the Adjournment to have it addressed. I have been dealing with various departmental offices for the past three weeks. On the Order of Business in this House I raised the fact that one cannot make contact with various departmental offices, particularly those of the general immigration division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. One can telephone the division on 01 6167700 on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. but nobody answers the telephone. Elected representatives should not have to resort to dealing with such matters on the Adjournment.

I call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to intervene in a case of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon who has been refused permission to remain in the State. The woman in question is married to a British citizen and under EU directives she should also be regarded as a British citizen.

This case could have serious implications if it means that every British citizen in Ireland is required to have private medical cover and is not entitled to a medical card. This is clearly not the case with other British citizens residing in this State. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would clarify this because there should be a pro rata agreement for Irish citizens living in Britain.

The situation has caused serious stress for the woman in question, who is partially blind. I hope that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform will look favourably on her application for naturalisation and not simply stamp "3" on her passport. She should be entitled to a medical card, to social welfare or to work in this country. The Department has been insensitive on this occasion because this woman would not be a burden on the State. She is a Canadian citizen, married to a British citizen, and the Department's actions could be construed as being anti-British, anti-EU and anti-Canadian.

I reiterate my disgust at having to raise this issue in the House on the Adjournment. I regard the decision as discriminatory and I wish to see it amended. I hope the Minister of State has some good news, not for me, but for a constituent of mine who feels slighted and hurt at the way she has been treated by the State.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. B. Smith)

I thank Senator Feighan for his kind words of welcome. On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who cannot be here this evening, and for the benefit of the House in general, I am pleased to respond to the matter raised by Senator Feighan. The file reference quoted by the Senator relates to an application for naturalisation by the person in question. That application was refused. However, in view of the matter raised by the Senator I will deal with the issue of leave to remain in the State, which is an entirely different matter.

At the outset, the Minister has now issued a letter to the person in question, granting her permission to remain in the State for a one year period without the need for private medical insurance. That permission may be renewed on application. She is also required to register with her local Garda registration office. It should be noted in this context that for the first eight years of her residence in the State, she was here without permission and failed to register with the Garda Síochána, as required by law.

A refusal to grant permission to remain in a case such as this is not tantamount to making a deportation order. Under the Irish legislative regime, the Minister is required by law to notify potential deportees in advance and to afford such persons an opportunity in writing to advance reasons as to why they should not be deported. As the Senator is no doubt aware, that never happened in this case and nor was it likely to happen.

The person in question was granted permission to remain in the State on 7 April 2005 on condition that she had private medical insurance. The difficulty was that she was unable to obtain such insurance, a difficulty which emerged only when she visited her local Garda registration office. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Minister has now decided to extend her permission for humanitarian reasons, having regard to the duration of her residency in the State and her personal and family circumstances.

In a wider context, the principles applied in this case are applied by immigration authorities in all jurisdictions. In addition, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform recently published a document entitled Immigration and Residence in Ireland, which outlines policy proposals for an immigration and residence Bill. That document contains an entire chapter on the admission of non-economically active persons. The Minister would welcome contributions from all quarters on the complex web of issues surrounding the immigration phenomenon, including issues that arise in the context of the Senator's Adjournment matter.

Schools Refurbishment.

Mr. Morrissey

I raise this issue about St.Brigid's national school, Castleknock. It is a school with an enrolment of 768 pupils. The Castleknock parish area has had projections of a 170% increase in housing in recent years. This school has long waiting lists. It urgently needs a new gym. The existing gym that was built in 1971 has been condemned by health and safety experts as being totally inadequate for its original purpose.

There is lack of accommodation for teachers. It was originally an 8-teacher school. It now has the same staffroom for 35 teachers. I visited the school recently and there is one classroom in a broom cupboard and one in a converted toilet. Teachers are in shared areas, which were previously remedial areas. There is crumbling mortar in places on the exterior of the building which is symptomatic of its dire need of refurbishment. The school has submitted a major capital works application. I could go on, but I will allow the Minister of State to say what may be done for this school to get it on the list and bring it up the scale.

This is a school which has fallen through the cracks, for some odd reason. It needs urgent attention to be brought into the system. The conditions there truly surprised me.

Mr. B. Smith

I thank Senator Morrissey for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House both the extensive actions already taken by the Department of Education and Science and those planned for the future, to tackle the accommodation needs of St. Brigid's national school, Castleknock.

Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area, as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, as Senator Morrissey has outlined. Nonetheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a sincere determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to facilitate the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

We have progressively increased funding for the school modernisation programme in recent years to achieve our goal with an aggregate total of almost €2 billion allocated for this purpose since 1998, the largest investment programme in the history of the State. Since the beginning of the year, the Minister for Education and Science has made a number of announcements relating to the schools building and modernisation programme. This year alone, €270 million will be allocated to primary schools and €223 million to post-primary schools for building works. This represent an increase of 14% on the 2004 allocation.

The programmes supported will include some 141 major building projects already on site and a further 28 due to commence in the coming weeks; some 122 major school building projects countrywide, which will prepare tenders and move to construction during 2005; some 192 primary schools which have been invited to take part in the small and rural schools initiative and the devolved scheme for providing additional accommodation; up to 120 schools which have been given approval to rent temporary premises, pending delivery of a permanent solution to their long-term accommodation needs; some 43 schools which have been authorised to start architectural planning of their major projects and 124 which have been approved to progress through the architectural planning process; and 590 schools which were given approval to complete essential small scale projects under the summer works scheme.

I am pleased to confirm that St. Brigid's national school, Castleknock, was successful in securing funding of over €90,000 towards the partial replacement of windows under the summer works scheme 2005. The school also received a grant of €225,000 in 2004 towards the replacement of windows. Last year, the Department of Education and Science received an application from the school authorities of St. Brigid's for the provision of a general purpose room, resource rooms, a multipurpose room and storage space. This application was assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects, which were revised following consultation with the education partners. The project will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme 2005-09.

I again thank Senator Morrissey for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the method used by the Department in determining in an open and transparent way how projects are included for funding in the school building programme. I assure the Seanad that this school and all others will be treated in a fair and equitable manner.

Schools Building Projects.

Mr. McHugh

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I raise this issue on the Adjournment with more than passing interest. I have a personal interest as Scoil Eoin Baiste, Carrigart, was the school in which I started my education, in 1975. I spent eight years at the school. From my vague memory of entering the school in 1975, I recall that it was one of the finest — if not the finest — national schools in the county at that time. However, 30 years have elapsed and times have change, as have educational needs.

The school extension was promised in 1999. In various elections since then, there has been much posturing and shadow boxing and many promises have been made. The staff and the board of management have had enough. They met last Monday in the parochial hall in Umlagh with parents of the school and public representatives. There is a belief among staff and parents that because this school has disadvantaged status under the Breaking the Cycle programme, the need for a school extension should be a priority.

There are four classes sharing the same toilet, which creates a problem of circulation among the students. One student is paraplegic and suffers from cerebral palsy. The student requires a hoist and changing area. The area currently being used is the small toilet used by the other classes. There is a serious issue of personal dignity for the student, the staff and the student's personal assistant. There is no general purpose room in the school. There is a PE instructor in the school, but there is no possibility of facilitating the new PE curriculum that is to be introduced. There are five staff members, along with a German teacher, a home liaison teacher, a PE instructor and a learning support teacher. That makes a total of nine staff who can all be there at any given time. The staff room is not adequate for this and there is a need for expansion.

I know the Minister of State will bring this issue to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science. The board of management, the principal, staff, parents and students want the funding for the extension of the school to be expedited. In 1975, this was one of the most modern schools in the county, but 30 years later it needs change.

Mr. B. Smith

I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Education and Science who is busy on other Government business. I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline the Department's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to outline the position on the application received in the Department for additional accommodation at Scoil Eoin Baiste in Carrigart, County Donegal.

Since the beginning of the year the Minister has made a number of announcements on the schools building and modernisation programme. This year alone, €270 million will be allocated to primary schools and €223 million to post-primary schools for building works. This represents an increase of 14% on the 2004 allocation. The new schools building and modernisation programme for 2005-09 will be underpinned by a significant increase in overall funding and by major improvements in the administration of that funding. Devolving more funding to local level through the summer works scheme and the small and rural schools initiative will allow schools to move ahead much more quickly with smaller projects while also delivering better value for money.

Scoil Eoin Baiste in Carrigart is a coeducational primary school with a current enrolment of 83 pupils. The school has a current staffing of a principal plus three mainstream teachers and one permanent resource teacher. Enrolments have decreased slightly in recent years, from 90 pupils in 2000 to 83 pupils in September 2004. The school authority made an application to the Department of Education and Science for the provision of a general purposes room and ancillary accommodation. The pupil enrolments at the school have necessitated a further examination of the schools long-term accommodation needs, in order to ensure that any capital funding provided is appropriate to meet the need.

I assure the Senator that this project will be considered in the context of the Department's school building and modernisation fund 2005-09. Once again, I thank the Senator for raising this matter.

Seanad Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 27 Apr 2005