Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Chean Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter. I previously raised this issue on the Adjournment on 28 April 2005 and have raised it with the Minister during Question Time on a number of occasions since then, but to no avail. Despite welcoming the Minister of State, I am disappointed the Minister for Education and Science is not here this evening. It reflects the interest in this subject. At least a Minister of State from the Department should be here.

The present enrolment at Scoil Eoin, Balloonagh, is 614 students. Of those students, 54% are accommodated in prefabricated buildings which are 20 years old. That amounts to 331 students. A further 24% of the students, more than 147 children, are accommodated in a building built 46 years ago which has never been modernised. A further 22% of the students, or 135 children, are accommodated in a building between 86 and 116 years old. That building has never been modernised either.

In 2000, it was agreed the long-term accommodation needs for Scoil Eoin would be to provide accommodation for a staffing of principal plus 22 mainstream teachers and ancillary staff. In 2001, the Department commissioned a feasibility study, which was carried out by Healy & Partners, Limerick. Five options for a rebuild were proposed. A meeting was held in Tullamore on 26 September 2002 between Department officials and the board of management to discuss the options. Unfortunately, despite the urgency of the situation, no further development of the project has taken place.

One of the main reasons for a rebuild is to accommodate all students in one permanent modern building. The Tuairisc Scoile report of 1999 concluded:

The school has been carefully maintained and looked after and is indeed a credit to all who have had responsibility for its upkeep. However, there is need here for a major improvement in accommodation. It is anticipated that the adjacent post-primary school will move to new premises within a few years. This would facilitate a re-development of this important educational centre to provide modern classroom facilities, better entrance and parking arrangements, and overall refurbishment of the existing accommodation.

In 2000, a report on the mechanical and electrical services in Scoil Eoin, commissioned by the Department of Education and Science, reached the following conclusion. I want to emphasise this because it is a major health and safety issue and an argument for the provision of a new school at Scoil Eoin:

We believe it is of paramount importance to install a completely new electrical system in the entire school complex. The present electrical system falls very much short of the requirements of current electrical regulations. A new electrical system is the most satisfactory way in which the safety and integrity of the electrical services at the school can be guaranteed and in which the school will have an electrical system which complies with current stringent ETCI, RECI and ESB regulations.

Department of Education and Science planning guidelines for primary schools recommend a minimum area of 76 sq. m, made up of 70 sq. m for teaching and wet play area and 6 sq. m for two toilet cubicles. None of the permanent classrooms in the school meets these criteria in area or en-suite facilities.

The energy rating of the school does not reach minimum standards. ESB and heating bills at Scoil Eoin are exorbitant. Evidence of this is available from the principal on request. Maintenance costs are also mounting due to the ageing structure. The ESB bill, which does not include oil, is approximately €3,500 every month. The building has no insulation and is completely outdated.

The issue of parking provision and set-down areas at the school must be addressed urgently as the volume of traffic outside Scoil Eoin has increased dramatically in recent times. Due to the fact the school is divided into five different buildings, it is difficult to keep cohesion between staff and students. In winter months the buildings are cold. Conditions are particularly miserable in wet weather because the school has so many external doors and students and staff must travel between buildings throughout the day.

I hope the Minister of State will state more than the information I was given in April 2005. I want definite news for the principal, the board of management, the parents, the teachers and particularly for the children. This will be a case for the Ombudsman and the courts unless the Department of Education and Science is prepared to act.

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