Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach. I welcome everyone. I found the session worthwhile and I enjoyed everyone's contributions. Having listened to all of the witnesses, my overriding thought is that, while everyone has something positive to say and has made some good points, no one appears to be joining the dots. No one seems to be taking control of the situation or to be trying to manage and plan it. Is there merit in forming a committee comprised of the witnesses to feed into a process to implement many of the good suggestions that have been made?

I will break the discussion down into two sections if I may. The first section relates to the existing stock of schools that we have, both primary and secondary. The Department has a duty of care to ensure that the existing stock is well looked after.

The word "audit" has been mentioned many times here today. It is important that we have an accurate audit which shows where our schools are at and what their needs are. Ms Leydon made a point about the changing face of education. She spoke about how things have changed with regard to well-being and youth mental health. She referred to the needs of people within our current school infrastructure. She set out where we are in that respect. She also mentioned that legislators have a responsibility in this area. As the Chairman said, the Government might be able to take a more targeted approach. It is all very good to bring in new measures that seem very good, but consideration must be given to the infrastructure available to schools to implement those measures. Perhaps the Government needs to be more cognisant of this as we go forward. If we continue in the manner in which we have proceeded up to now, it will not be fair to teachers or students.

We need to plan to make sure our existing stock is well looked after and is not deteriorating. Ms O'Connor made the simple point that we do not know when the minor works scheme is going to happen every year. I think it is unfair and unsatisfactory that many teachers who are trying to plan have to come in during the summer holidays to do this work. I do not think there is any good reason for allowing this to continue. It should not be allowed to continue. We need to ensure adequate funding is available to protect the investment we have already made in relation to our existing stock.

When Ms Ryan spoke about future planning in her contribution, she put her finger on the crux of this issue. She spoke as a parent who is looking in from the outside. I am not pointing the finger directly at anyone when I say that the system cannot plan for the needs of areas. Mr. Hogan outlined the guidelines that apply to the Department. When Departments issue guidelines to local authorities in respect of development plans, they say that based on current requirements, there is a need to zone a certain number of hectares for residential accommodation. If it is recommended that 40 ha should be developed for residential purposes in County Monaghan, for example, one would imagine that someone would be looking at the educational need which will arise and feeding that into the plans being made. If a certain number of houses are built on that 40 ha over the six-year or seven-year lifetime of a development plan, a certain level of educational need will arise. Such considerations should be fed into the process. It seems everyone is aware that this should happen, but nobody seems to be joining the dots. Nobody seems to be in control. That is part of the problem that has led to 42 schools being over-subscribed, as Mr. Mulconry has said. Something is falling down somewhere if that is happening. Someone needs to grab control of that.

I would like to say two more things, the first of which might be a matter for Mr. Loftus. It seems to me as a lay person that the delivery of new schools is a laboured and time-consuming exercise from the point when authorisation is given for the construction of the school to the point at which the door of the classroom is opened. Ms O'Connor will be familiar with a pilot project that has been implemented in the old Army barracks in Monaghan. The Department of Education and Skills bought the property in question from the Department of Defence and secured planning permission for a primary school, a secondary school, an institute of further education, a sports hall, a theatre and playing fields. A project involving three schools, a theatre and a sports hall was turned around inside two years. Surely that is a more beneficial way of delivering new projects than the current approach. Perhaps we should be doing more of this. I would like to hear the witnesses' comments on this matter. When I think about the man hours that are involved in delivering a new school from the day it is announced to the day it is delivered, it strikes me that many people make a significant investment over a large period of time.

I would like to conclude by reflecting on a more global picture in relation to all the facilities in our schools and communities. Should we be giving more consideration to sharing the facilities and infrastructure in our schools? If so, how best could this be done?

Is much thought given to how best communities and taxpayers can get overall benefit from that?