Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to raise the accommodation crisis at Carrig national school. Carrig national school is a rural school on the Tipperary-Offaly border. In 1994 the school was expanded to cater for a maximum of 75 pupils and three staff. In the 13 years since that last major expansion, the school population has increased to 91. It has four classroom teachers and two special needs teachers. With those six teachers, there are also five full-time special needs assistants, one part-time special needs assistant and a secretary, giving a total staff complement of 13.

I want to emphasise the commitment to special needs education at Carrig national school. Recognition of the basic right to education of every pupil is fundamental to the ethos of the school. Of the 91 pupils in the school, ten have been assessed with a variety of learning disabilities, such as severe speech and language disorder, profoundly deaf with epilepsy, Down's syndrome and autistic spectrum.

The needs of these pupils are of greatest importance to school management. The further enrolment of autistic children next year will have serious ramifications for the school generally and its accommodation needs. The school staff and board of management endeavour to provide the very best education possible for all the children in their educational care. This cannot be fully achieved without proper resources and the provision of satisfactory accommodation. The fact that parents, teachers and pupils learn sign language after school hours at night is proof of the dedication, caring ethos and determination to provide a rounded, well-balanced education for every one of the 91 pupils enrolled in Carrig national school.

A scheme of 74 houses is currently nearing completion in the catchment area, with construction beginning on another significant scheme of houses. There is also a planning application for 32 houses. All of this additional development will have a considerable impact on the future accommodation requirements of the school.

In response to the obvious accommodation need in terms of special needs and staff, the school management has applied for a devolved grant from the Department. A staff room, an extra classroom to replace a prefab, a learning support room, a resource room, an office, a library and a meeting room are required to adequately cater for the school's needs into the future. The school is currently using a teacher's toilet to store PE equipment and science equipment. As the school has no general purpose room, access to the PE curriculum is dictated by weather conditions, as are school assemblies. Therefore, the school also needs a general purpose room and a store room.

It is crucial that this school is included in the major capital projects that proceed this year. There is an acute accommodation crisis in Carrig national school, where first and second class and the learning support teacher are working in a damp, draughty prefab, which is costing the school a fortune to rent and heat. Surely this is a prime example of poor value for money, when two or three years' rent would pay for the construction of a badly needed new classroom.

Last year, the school unsuccessfully applied for an extension. It was apparent to the Department at the time that major capital investment was required to address the accommodation crisis in the school. This year, the school management has applied for funding under the devolved scheme. Failure to include this school under the devolved capital programme would be a travesty and simply incomprehensible to parents, teachers and the wider community. It is apparent from the planned housing development in the locality that additional school accommodation will be needed in the future. It is also blatantly obvious that the school needs additional facilities to meet the requirements of the special needs teachers and pupils.

The current overcrowding at Carrig national school is unacceptable. The teachers and pupils are placed at an unfair disadvantage because of the intolerable conditions prevailing on a daily basis. I ask the Minister, on behalf of the parents, teachers and board of management, to ensure the inclusion of this school in the 2007 building programme.

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