Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the opportunity to raise the urgent question of the need for an extension to Kinsale community school. The school was originally built for 460 students. The need for the extension was recognised over five years ago. Enrolment has increased in every year in the meantime and this year it will be up to 700. The projected figure within a couple of years is 850 and the Department recognised that the extension must be adequate to cater for that number.

As of now, serious and dangerous overcrowding exists and this is projected to get worse. Some temporary classrooms have been provided for general classes but there has been no additional, even temporary, accommodation in the practical specialist areas of art and drawing, home economics, engineering and building construction. A limit has now to be placed on the uptake of these subjects. Kinsale community school is the only second level school in the area. By way of comparison, in my adjoining town of Bandon there are four second level schools so one can appreciate the pressures on the single second level school in Kinsale.

The Kinsale community school resulted from the amalgamation of the existing schools, including the vocational school. It seeks to provide a comprehensive system of post-primary education open to all the children of the community and combining instruction in academic and practical subjects.

Apart from the problems for the students, conditions for the staff are getting worse and have become extremely difficult. The original staff room was built to accommodate 34 staff. This year it will have to accommodate 58 staff overall, so there is hardly standing room. There is a culture of parental involvement in the school but now staff members find that they often have to conduct discussions with parents and others in conditions that are neither appropriate nor adequate.

I raised this issue by way of parliamentary questions on a number of occasions. I was told by the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on 25 April 2006 in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 873 that the "next step in the process is the appointment of a design team to commence the architectural planning of the project". This is almost the second anniversary of that reply. In February 2007, I had a further positive response indicating that the long-term accommodation needs of the school had been determined in the light of the upward enrolment trends and projected pupil numbers and that a schedule of overall accommodation had been drawn up. The only issue outstanding was the need to have a technical examination of the existing buildings "in order to determine how best to provide for the school's accommodation needs into the future", and this was carried out a few months later.

The positive responses have lapsed into silence since the election last year. The only changes to have taken place since then, despite the positive vibrations from the Minister, are that school numbers have continued to rise, the demand for accommodation has become greater and the pressure on teachers has become greater. The Minister and the Government have done nothing in the meantime. It is time for them to step up to the mark and deliver on what was promised years ago. I want the immediate appointment of a design team to commence the architectural planning of the project without delay.

I want to refer to two issues which put this matter in its broader context. As pointed out in many recent articles, it is no coincidence that Ireland's prosperity and economic dynamism is related to the educational advances of 30 and 40 years ago. A book on Donogh O'Malley was published recently. Whatever the reason for the wild decision he made, it was a great decision to provide free secondary education. However, there is no point having free secondary education if we do not provide facilities for the pupils seeking it.

The other issue in recent times relates to the McKinsey report from the international business consultants who graded Finland, Korea and Canada as the top performers in education for three reasons. The report stated that they have the best teachers, they get the best out of teachers and they step in when pupils begin to lag behind. They respect teaching as a profession. The difference here, and specifically in Kinsale, is that this cannot be done. Nobody can step in because there is no room to step in.

I say to the Minister and the Government that now is the time. Let us have the design team and let us get on with the business without further delay.

See this speech in context