James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. It is an important issue in my area given the urgent need for the Minister for Education and Science to provide funding for a new school building for St. Mary's national school, Edgeworthstown, County Longford. I seek an update on the loss of essential teaching staff at the school despite rising roll numbers.

The reality for St. Mary's is that it needs a new 16-classroom school at the cost of €3.6 million, as compared to the shameful waste of €1.1 million from 2002 to date on temporary accommodation. Just in case basic maths is a problem for the Minister, the new school has already reached a cost of €4.7 million and that is without including fees of €120,000 paid to consultants or the €40,000 for ESB for the temporary prefabs and the rising cost associated with the delay in the commencement of works.

If the new school building were to be deferred for another few years, which is beyond contemplation, the cost of building it would have been totally thrown away on temporary accommodation, which would still be temporary and by then in urgent need of replacement or restoration. That is madness. As I have continually said, the Government is penny wise and pound foolish. It makes no economic sense to continue to throw away money on temporary accommodation that would be better utilised on permanent buildings, particularly as one third of the final cost has already been spent on temporary structures.

St. Mary's currently has 20 teachers and their pupils in prefabs. The school which is expecting to have 120 plus EAL pupils in September 2009, is losing three language support teachers. It currently has five language teachers for 99 EAL pupils, which again if you will forgive me for drawing attention to the basic maths, does not add up, and the children will suffer as a result. The general allocation for learning support will have to absorb the balance, encroaching on the already overburdened learning support teachers. The school is also to lose one class teacher. In September 2008, enrolment was five pupils above the appointment-retention figure of 367 and with the increase in class size it is now three short of the 375 appointment-retention figure. To retain the teacher, enrolment will have to increase by 25 pupils to achieve developing school status. St Mary's is a vibrant school which serves the community under the excellent care of the principal, Ms Helen O'Gorman. It provides a first class education for a rapidly increasing primary school-going population in Edgeworthstown and surrounding areas. It does so despite the limitations imposed by the Government, but the built environment is becoming more and more of an issue for teachers, pupils and parents. The population has grown by 68.4% in the five years from 2001-06 and enrolment has grown accordingly, but EAL has remained static. The school should be included in the Department of Education and Science's development area units.

I am asking the Minister to stop throwing good money after bad. Instead of ploughing more money on top of the third of the cost of the new building already spent into temporary accommodation which is totally unsuited for the purpose and facing rising costs, building must be permitted to go ahead at this school. I hope that in the Minister's reply, there will be a Christmas box for students, teachers and parents in the Edgeworthstown area. I should very much appreciate a favourable response to this important motion for this area of my constituency.

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