Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

The matter I wish to raise is St. Mary's and St. Gerard's national school. This school is bursting at the seams and has now reached a critical stage in terms of the number of pupils. I ask the Minister to honour a commitment she made before the last general election and to ensure that the children attending the school are treated fairly.

This school provides for the growing population of Enniskerry and its catchment area, some of which is within the Minister's constituency. Despite that fact, the school has not been given the go ahead to develop new capacity and to become a 16-classroom school. This issue has been ongoing for many years. Indeed, while Enniskerry stagnated on the waiting list, other schools nearby got the green light. When the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, came under pressure during the general election campaign about her neglect of the school building programme, she ensured a letter was sent from the Department to the chairperson of the board of management stating clearly that the accommodation will provide for the staffing and building of 16 mainstream classrooms. The letter also stated that the school planning section would advise the technical staff to visit the school as soon as possible to verify the necessary additional accommodation required.

The letter was warmly welcomed. The election was held but, shamefully, since the letter was sent on 10 May nothing has been heard from the Department about the technical staff that were due to visit. This is unacceptable. The school's situation is becoming desperate. The parents and staff need to know when the project will begin and when the commitment made in writing by the Minister to the board of management will be honoured.

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