David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for choosing this matter this evening, thereby allowing me to raise it. I thank the Minister of State for taking this debate. Unfortunately, his ministerial colleagues in the Department of Education and Science, which has one Minister and two Ministers of State, could not be present. However, the Minister of State who is present is most competent to take this issue.

I raise the issue of the gaelscoil in Midleton again, more than 12 months after doing so previously. Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann now is well established and is attended by 305 pupils at present. Attendance will increase to 340 and 370 pupils next year and the year after, respectively. The school is growing at an alarming rate and needs one new classroom every year. It operates out of a community centre, which ironically has developed through taking out loans on the strength of getting rent from the Department, which it has used to build permanent rooms onto the community centre.

However, the community centre is not a suitable site and the town has lost its community centre as a result of the gaelscoil taking over the building. It has no playground as such, parking is inadequate and the school is spread out upstairs, downstairs and all over the place. Moreover, the school is set to grow even further. It is very popular and successful and, increasingly, parents are choosing this school, as is their right. More than 50 children are seeking to enrol in 2010 with a waiting list of 30.

Ironically, had the Department decided a number of years ago to build and fund a new school, the amount it has expended on rent over that period would have funded such a development and its pupils now would have a new school. This cockeyed policy of spending millions upon millions on rental accommodation does not make sense to me because sooner or later, the Department will be obliged to build a new school anyway. The community centre management is delighted because the centre now has many new rooms that ultimately will benefit the community. In the short term however, the students are being short-changed. The Minister of State should revert to the Department of Education and Science to reconsider this school. The school itself considers itself to be abandoned and has little contact with the Department. It has a band rating that I contend is not suitable to its needs.

The population in the area is growing at a significant rate and this is an urgent need. Building a new school would provide much needed employment in the area, particularly to the construction industry. That should be part of policies across the House. Instead of allocating money to renting prefabs, let us build new, solid schools for the education of our children. I hope the Minister of State has positive news for me, not a cut and paste version of what I got 12 months ago or a cut and paste version of answers to parliamentary questions I tabled during the year. This seems to happen more and more. I hope the Minister of State will take the message back to the Department that we must start planning for a new gaelscoil in Mainistir na Corann as soon as possible.

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