Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment and I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for that.

People in Westport are taking to the streets. They intend to march locally and to Dáil Éireann. These are people who would not be interested in doing something like this unless they were desperate, which they are. Gaelscoil na Cruaiche has been in existence since 1995 and the school has gone from strength to strength. It now has almost 200 pupils. For the past nine years 30 pupils and another teacher have been added each year. The school is most impressive.

The problem is that the school is on a temporary site in five prefabricated classrooms. As the lease will soon expire it will have to prepare for another move. It has already moved three times. The position is desperate because almost 200 pupils and nine teachers will be out on the road. The school has received notice to quit from the site by 2006 and the lease is not renewable. On 31 May 2006 the school will have to vacate the site. Unless alternative accommodation is provided those 200 pupils will be on the street in one year's time.

I have been pursuing the matter with the Minister and the reply to a question I tabled in December 2004 was that the OPW was examining the site. In 2001 the OPW was asked to examine the site and it was decided in 2004 that it was not successful in finding one. This is a major problem which is causing great worry for these children who are being educated through Irish and their parents. The matter requires urgent attention.

A shocking report exists on the conditions in the school in terms of health and safety, which was commissioned by the board of management. It paints a terrible picture of dry rot, wet rot and so on. The five prefabricated buildings were bought second-hand six years ago and are falling apart. The position is critical, taking into account eviction notices, dry and wet rot and so on.

I raised the matter with the Minister for Education and Science again in February and was informed that the property management section of the OPW was exploring the possibility of acquiring a site for the school. The Minister was unable to give me more information because of commercial sensitivities. The OPW was to select a site and the Minister had no news thereon at the time in question. The OPW has made its final assessment and has told the school that the result would be available soon. However, that was four months ago and the school has heard nothing. Nothing has been done about the provision of a school site, the shape of the school to come or the financial allocation, yet it has to be open by 1 June 2006.

The Department says it can do nothing until it receives a report from the OPW. So far there are no signs of progress at the design or planning stages. On 26 April 2005, I asked the Minister, further to her statement in Dáil Éireann that Gaelscoil na Cruaiche would be provided with a site, the reason for the delay by the OPW in finalising the site arrangements, given that a site is now available. I am aware that a site is available. I asked her if she would fulfil her promise that a school would be built when needed. Furthermore, I asked when the school would be built and if she would make a statement on the matter. She replied:

The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, is continuing to explore the possibility of acquiring a site for the school referred to by the Deputy. The technical suitability of seven sites is under consideration . . . . The question of the development of a new school building will be considered further in the context of the multi-annual budget when the site has been acquired.

I know many buildings and much funding has been provided by the Department, but I refer to desperate circumstances because the people involved need to be in a new, permanent school within one year. The conditions are desperate. I asked the Minister to prioritise the case of the school. There is a site available and there is nothing commercially sensitive about it.

People are saying the Minister is not interested in doing something because she is not prepared to commit money to the west. The situation is desperate and I am not exaggerating by saying that people are taking to the streets. They are desperate for an answer and I hope the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Callely, can give me one tonight.

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