Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I propose to share time with Deputy Rabbitte. I am disappointed that the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, who was in the House earlier, is not present to respond to this important matter. It is clear that the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, has been given the graveyard shift, answering on everyone's behalf. It is a disappointment that this is a serious matter that is not being addressed by his senior colleague.

Holy Rosary National School, Tallaght, was established in 1985. At that stage it was established on a temporary basis and the buildings are still described as semi-permanent. For the past 23 years, it has had a reputation for educational excellence and providing to children of all faiths and none a warm and encouraging education environment.

Given the growth of the Ballycullen and Old Court areas in Dublin 24, the school is bursting at the seams, teachers must work in corridors and the normal facilities one would expect in a school are not provided. The school applied for a new permanent school on its substantial existing site more than eight years ago, but the board of management, parents and teachers are frustrated at the complete failure on the part of the Department to deliver a new school to the community. In that period, more than 3,000 new housing units have been built within less than a half mile radius of the school. Many other schools have seen progress in their applications for total refurbishments or new schools in the past eight years, but this is not the case with Holy Rosary national school. Currently, 480 children attend the school and it has 20 classes, 13 of which are in prefabs. The school has no library facility, physical education hall or medical room. Its staffroom is asked to accommodate 45 professionals in a space where barely 15 could sit. Neither has the school a resource room.

The question is why the Department sat on the application for the past eight years and has shown no intention of moving it to the planning and construction stage. Officials from the Department visited the school four years ago and, with less than 12 hours notice in October of last year, the Department summoned the board of management to meet the former's building unit in Tullamore. The school was led to believe that a decision on the next stage of the building project was imminent. Rightly, the school asked how the project could be regarded as open and transparent on the part of the Department when the application has not been given political priority by the Government. I ask the Minister of State to respond to this urgent matter.

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