Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter. Gaelscoil na Cruaiche is doing a wonderful job and is a great success. In September 2005, 197 pupils were enrolled, there were nine permanent staff, one full-time and three part-time special needs staff and eight part-time ancillary staff. Already, 210 pupils are enrolled for September 2006. At the moment, it exists in a five prefabs in poor condition, a serious health and safety issue. Its lease will expire at the end of next May but this lease is non-renewable. Therefore, it must have everything off the site at the end of that school term. As such, the school must be included in the building programme to ensure accommodation on January 2006.

I have raised this matter repeatedly and the answers I received include in December 2004 that the property management section of the Office of Public Works was exploring the possibility of acquiring a site and on 28 September that site negotiations are under way and once the site is finalised, the project will be considered in progression in the context of the building programme. Despite this, on 13 October 2005, I was informed by the Minister of Education and Science:

The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department regarding site acquisitions generally, has identified a suitable site for the school referred to by the Deputy. The OPW has been in contact with a vendor regarding the acquisition of a site and is now awaiting a response.

We need to know if this school is on the building list. The Minister guaranteed that once the site was secured, this would be the case. The Minister told me that when a school is needed, a school would be built. I urgently ask the Minister of State to give an undertaking tonight that a school will be provided. Otherwise, 197 pupils will be on the street, 210 by next year.

This issue has been well flagged. The Department has been aware for the past four or five years at least that the lease would expire and nothing less than a commitment tonight will do. Will the school be included in the building programme? Will the pupils be out on the road or will they have a new school? If not, why not? These pupils deserve the very best as they and their teachers have worked very hard and deserve more than to be left in this limbo situation.

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