Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I thank Deputy Brian Hayes for sharing his time with me and support his case in respect of this particular school. In terms of the required refurbishment and additional facilities, Holy Rosary national school is the forgotten school in so far as the Department of Education and Science is concerned. It is the only school of which I know that has more classes held in prefabricated buildings than in the school building itself. This is a great pity because, as the Deputy mentioned, there has been a housing explosion in the immediate environs. A considerable population of non-national children attends the school and, while it may be the forgotten school, it is also the happiest of which I know. It is brilliantly led by the principal and receives tremendous commitment from the teachers, but it has awaited a decision for more than 20 years.

What is the impediment and why is the school being jumped in the queue by other schools? What does the Minister for Education and Science, who is regrettably not present — I mean the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, no disrespect — have against the Ballycragh national school? This is the question parents are beginning to ask. One cannot continue to have a situation in which more children are taught in prefabricated classrooms than in the school proper.

The project has been outstanding for so long that it is the local expectation that it will be included in the tranche to be announced by the Minister at an early date. I hope the Minister of State will be able to confirm this for Deputy Brian Hayes and myself because all parties are united on the necessity of the refurbishment. For some reason, however, the Government has decided to put the project on the long finger for the past almost dozen years. I plead with the Minister of State to respond to the case set out by Deputy Brian Hayes, who has given the facts in terms of the non-existent facilities, twice as many teachers being squeezed into a staffroom as it was designed to accommodate and the needs of the area's children. As the Deputy stated, the area has more than 3,000 new houses and more are in prospect. I plead with the Minister of State to give the House positive news in the interest of the area's children.

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