Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

The community school for Clifden, the capital of Connemara, lies approximately half a mile out of town on the Ballyconnelly road. For the past ten years there has been a campaign running to replace the school. It caters for 432 pupils but was built to cater for 350 pupils. The original school building was 20,400 sq. ft., which was one sixth less than the standard required at that time. According to the engineer's report:

The school currently has problems relating to space, classrooms, circulation, the lack of social and dining areas for pupils, health and safety issues and staff accommodation, both social and professional. The school needs to be evaluated not only from the perspective of the physical structure, but also from the perspective of its educational adequacy.

It caters for a large area north west of Clifden, including Clifden, Cleggan, Claddaduff, Renville and almost as far as Leenane, and, to the west, Ballyconnelly, Roundstone, Tomboola, Cashel and Recess, which is on the east side of the school. That is a catchment area of approximately 22 square miles. An added problem facing the school is that the only other second level school in that area, Kylemore Abbey, is being phased out. It now caters only for fifth and sixth year students and will be closed in two years' time. This will increase the number of pupils attending the Clifden school.

I have followed this campaign closely for the past ten years. I have tabled several parliamentary questions, first on 28 February 2001 asking the then Minister for Education and Science "whether it would be better value for money to build a new school at an extra cost of £1.4 million and maintain the old building for other uses in the community". The then Minister, Deputy Michael Woods, told me he was looking into it. On 21 March 2006, the then Minister, Deputy Mary Hanafin, said: "The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning." On 29 April 2008, she said: "My Department recently approved the stage 3 submission for this project."

There are frequent public meetings in Clifden about the school and we get great value out of it. We held a public meeting before the 2002 election attended by the Minister, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, and Deputy Frank Fahey, who were then Ministers of State and have many connections with that area. I thought I would be canvassing the workers on the site before the election. We had a tremendous meeting before the 2007 election too, attended by 250 or 300 parents, in the school and I thought I would be knocked with bulldozers which we were told would move in straightaway.

Two years into the life of this Government, however, the building of the school seems to be as far away as ever. What is the situation about the provision for the school? Now is the hour for the Minister to act. Construction firms and workers are out of work. Now is the time to give people in an area of high unemployment, Clifden and north Connemara, an opportunity to work. Those people would far rather work than be on the dole. If the Government moved to sanction the building of this necessary second level school in Clifden, it would be opportune for everybody, parents, pupils, teachers and the construction industry workers around Clifden who would be glad to have jobs.

I hope I will not have to speak on the subject here again. I look forward to being at a meeting before the next election, which might come sooner than we think, and hope to get the bulldozers will be revved up. I hope I will not have to return to the next Dáil to ask that this school building be started.

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