Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I find it illogical that a proposal is going to be put to the Department to build facilities which already exist, just 100 or 200 yards away. There is also blame being apportioned here. The De La Salle Brothers are blaming the patron for the reorganisation and saying this is being forced upon them. Then, the patron is saying this is being forced on it because the brothers are pulling out. I do not know which is true. The letter of yesterday and previous correspondence do not seem to suggest the brothers want to walk away. They say that primary education in Ballyfermot is being reorganised by the patron because of declining numbers, not because the brothers are pulling out.

I can understand that Ms McDonagh is concerned about dealing with the situation for September next year. From her point of view, there should be an immediate discussion with the De La Salle Brothers and they should be asked, out of Christian charity, to transfer the lands and the buildings into the hands of the patrons. As a republican, my preference would be that they should hand them over to the State and the State should run the schools. However, I am realistic enough to understand that is not going to happen. In this instance, that is not the wish of the parents or the community. At the least, land that has been in the possession of the De La Salle Order for educational purposes should be transferred back to the patron or given to the patron in perpetuity to facilitate the educational development of the schools.

At the moment the pupil-teacher ratio is too high. We have discussed the matter in the committee and we all want it to be reduced. If it is reduced, then in five or ten years' time the Dominican campus will not be big enough. By that stage buildings only a few doors down the road will be sitting empty or perhaps knocked down or vandalised. Furthermore, since they are big buildings, they will cost money to maintain. They are dated and need work. They have copper roofs, which seem to attract people who do damage. It is a pity in this day and age that this is one of the consequences of the society we are living in. Often there are extra costs for schools that are rather open, like the De La Salle schools.