Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Stagg for raising this matter. One of the reasons I am replying is because I have visited Kill national school and I am conscious of the excellent quality education being provided and the leadership given by the principal and staff in a school building that is anything but quality accommodation. I am concerned by the fact that the school faces not just demographic pressure but also pressure from the roadworks. Anybody travelling along the route can see the school. I am conscious of the conditions under which the school operates.

I am anxious that Kill national school should be one of the 1,300 schools to benefit from the schools building projects fund of approximately €500 million. The rate of growth in the school has been enormous over the past few years. Currently the school has 426 pupils, a principal, 15 mainstream assistants and four special needs teachers. It has grown in the past six years by 94 pupils, from 332 in 2000-2001 to 426. In that short time the rate of increase has amounted to three class groups.

When the school applied initially to the Department for an extension, it was on the basis of a 16-classroom school. The school has a priority one rating, the highest priority that can be given. Obviously, we are committed to seeing that this school and schools like it in rapidly developing areas are prioritised and make progress more quickly than other schools. When the Department decided initially on a 16-classroom school, the technical assessment of the site deemed it unsuitable to provide the level of extra accommodation needed to match the requirement.

The property management section of the OPW acts on behalf of the Department of Education and Science with regard to site acquisitions. It was asked to acquire a suitable site for the school. I understand a number of sites have been identified and the OPW is awaiting a recommendation from the valuer on the options. As soon as the preferred site is identified, it will be acquired in the shortest timeframe possible. I am waiting for the valuer to come back to me through the OPW.

In recent years we have used very innovative methods of delivering school buildings. With the use of generic design and design build, we have actually built schools in ten months. One example of this is the Archbishop Ryan school in Lucan. As soon as we get the site, I will be determining that we should use the fastest possible method of building the school.

In light of the recent demands on the school for enrolment, we now do not believe that a 16-classroom school will be big enough, particularly when one looks at the long-term enrolment needs of the area. Deputy Stagg seems to agree. We have to undertake an immediate review of the long-term enrolment needs of the school to ensure that the additional accommodation provided will be sufficient to meet the expected demand for pupil places in the foreseeable future. We will look at all relevant factors including enrolment, demographic trends, the rate and pace of proposed housing developments in the area, along with the projected occupancy rates. This review is being carried out as a matter of urgency and the outcome will be discussed with the school authority as soon as it comes to hand.

With regard to the immediate needs in Kill national school, as outlined by the Deputy, we have an application for temporary accommodation on hand to facilitate enrolment for September 2006. I am concerned that what the school has applied for will not be sufficient to meet the demands on it for September. I have asked the school planning section to meet the school immediately to make sure that we can expedite the matter and ensure that the accommodation needed can be made available, bearing in mind that there are site restrictions.

As soon as the Office of Public Works finds a site, as been instructed, we will purchase it and build the school as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we need to identify how big that school is going to be and that work is being done as a matter of priority. We also need to determine the temporary accommodation needed, which will be signed off with the school as quickly as possible.

I am acutely conscious of this particular school and I commend the principal, Mr. Kinnane, and his staff for the genuinely quality education they are providing in those circumstances.

See this speech in context