Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

I wish to draw attention to the need for permanent accommodation for Scoil na Camóige in Clondalkin. The school was not included in the list of school buildings announced recently by the Minister for Education and Science. This is very surprising and disappointing for the school, its board of management, the parents and the children. The school has been in temporary accommodation for 15 years and, for most of this time, it has been in prefabricated buildings that are approximately 20 years old.

The school must be one of the schools waiting longest for permanent accommodation. I have raised in the past the fact that Gaelscoileanna seem to be faring very badly in this regard. Many of the schools awaiting permanent accommodation for a long time seem to be Gaelscoileanna. Fifteen years is an extremely long period, particularly given that the school in question is in very unsatisfactory accommodation.

Let me outline the history of the school's request for permanent accommodation. Great hope was given to the school, the parents and children in the lead-up to the general election in 2007 in that they were led to believe a permanent school building would be provided. The issue of the site for the building appeared to have been resolved. Government Deputies, including the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, and the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy John Curran, were very quick to give good news to parents in this regard.

I have a copy of a leaflet issued in this period by the Minister for Health and Children. It stated she was delighted with the progress made up to that point on what was an important issue for Clondalkin. It also stated she hoped any outstanding details could be resolved very quickly. She paid tribute to all who would be involved in making this happen, especially the parents, who were described as being so energetic and committed in their campaign for the new school site. The Minister thanked them for their kind words regarding the help she had given them and stated she was only too delighted to have pulled out all the stops to make that happen. However, nothing has happened since and the school is in exactly the same position as it was during the general election campaign in 2007. It is still in the same prefabs and the improvements made to those were done out of money raised by parents and the school board of management.

Recent correspondence from the Department of Education and Science does not offer much hope to the school. A letter to the council which had raised the issue with the Department states that the school building would be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme. Nothing is stated about when the school will be built.

In 2007, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, said that everybody agreed that the current prefab school was not suitable for the pupils or staff and that a new school building was required. At the time serious concerns were expressed about health and safety concerns with regard to the prefabs. There were problems with heating and a student had fainted in the classroom.

Recently, the principal requested the council to carry out a dampness report on the school. Serious dampness problems were found. There was poor ventilation in the girls' toilets, damp in the boys' toilets and a firedoor needed a draught excluder fitted. The corridor was recorded on the upper register of the damp meter. There was mould in the staff room and in the toilets and there was high damp registration in many of the classrooms. Mould was found on the building. This could cause problems for the pupils because mould has been found to be a factor for people who have asthma.

In general, prefab buildings are not very energy efficient, getting over-heated in summer and taking too long to heat in the winter. Considerable costs are involved in heating prefabs. If any school should be given priority in the school building programme, Gaelscoil na Camóige is that school. I wish the Minister of State to update me on this matter.

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