Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue along with my colleague, Deputy Enright. This is an important matter for people in the Dromakeenan area, which is just outside the borders of north Tipperary, on the outskirts of Roscrea. Many parents and children in the area have major concerns, particularly about the safety issues to which Deputy Enright has alluded. Two of the classrooms are less than half the size they should be. The three children in the autism unit — into which two more children are anxious to enter — are in temporary accommodation. The fact that a learning support teacher must work from a kitchenette is unfair to the pupils and the teachers. The management must be complimented on the fact that it has everything in situ. It is ready to roll. It has gone through all stages with the Department — with the exception of the most important stage, which is sanction to build — and the contractor is on site.

We are conscious in rural Ireland that the Minister of State, as a Dublin Deputy, may exert more influence than perhaps even the Taoiseach himself, who comes from a rural area. The Government's emphasis is on providing accommodation for people within the greater Dublin area and the commuter belt. However, our children in rural Ireland deserve fair play too. We are not going to stand here and allow them to be neglected. The people of north Tipperary and south Offaly deserve their share of the resources, and Dromakeenan national school certainly deserves it.

Moreover, it would be an ideal opportunity, with the local elections coming, for the Taoiseach to present himself in that area to turn the sod. He would be taking in north Tipperary and south Offaly for the local elections.

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