Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me and Deputy Noel J. Coonan the opportunity to raise this matter. Scoil náisiúnta Cronain Naofa is located in County Offaly but serves children from its hinterland of south Offaly and north Tipperary. It is one of a number of schools on which substantial amounts of money have been spent to get them through the complicated stages of the schools building programme. Having successfully navigated that, the school was, needless to say, expecting to proceed to building its extension. However, that has not happened. This school has spent €148,269 so far on fees to get through the process and is one of 14 or 15, including the Convent of Mercy national school in Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois, that has not been given permission by the Minister to proceed.

I believe the Minister is to make an announcement in the first quarter of 2009, if not earlier, on which schools are to be allowed to proceed under this programme, and I believe strongly that the schools in Dromakeenan and Borris-in-Ossory need to be included. The school in Dromakeenan has 249 students. It has a special autism unit that is currently operating from a prefab. It has two thirds of the space it is supposed to have. The Minister himself, in his portfolio and in view of his previous positions, will be well aware of the importance in the primary school curriculum of having adequate space. The school in Dromakeenan does not have the space needed to implement the curriculum. Similarly, if the Department wants autism units around the country — which has clearly been its preference, as it is not prepared to sanction the ABA model — schools that are willing to set up these units which are extremely important, need to be given the proper facilities, as the children need those facilities. That is not the case in Dromakeenan. It is a great school but it is hampered by its inability to develop. Those at the school have done fantastic work in terms of car parking and so on.

The Minister will be making decisions over the coming weeks about what projects will proceed. To spend the amount of money that has been spent on this project to date and not allow it to proceed would be almost criminal. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, and particularly the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, to give proper consideration to this in view of the amount that has been spent and to give the school permission to proceed to build, which it is ready to do.

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