Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this important local matter for discussion on the Adjournment. Everyone associated with Shanbally National School was deeply disappointed that the school was not included in the recent announcement by the Minister for Education and Science concerning the schools building programme. That disappointment must be understood in the context that the application for the extension was initially made to the Department in June 2001.

Shanbally National School is currently operating on a site of approximately 1.65 acres. It is an old school building with a number of portakabins on the site. The original building was developed in 1964 as a three-teacher school. The school currently has eight main-stream classrooms, as well as a special speech and language class. Some 220 pupils attend the school, but the vast majority of those have to attend classes in the portakabins. The main building accommodates just three mainstream classes, a school office and a general purpose room. The remaining five mainstream classes, as well as the special speech and language class, currently operate in nine portakabins on the site.

I wish to highlight the costs involved in this case. The annual rent for the portkabins is about €100,000 which is a significant sum for an eight-classroom school. I acknowledge that the Minister has made good progress nationally in reducing the costs associated with renting temporary portkabins on school sites. However, he should examine this case in Shanbally where that annual investment of €100,000 could be put to better use by providing a permanent extension to the school building, which is what is required. The school has a band of 2.2 which needs to be upgraded. The key issue is that Shanbally should be recognised as a developing area, given its proximity to Carrigaline where I live. It is a large and expanding satellite town. In recent times, local schools have been under some pressure to accommodate the number of children coming through the system.

Enrolment at Shanbally has doubled since 2000 when it had only 126 pupils. That growth has been entirely predictable, given the level of development in Carrigaline and the spillover effect which has reached Shanbally National School. I wish to highlight the comparison with other schools in the area. For example, Ballygarvan is deemed to be a developing area and it, too, has a similar mixture of pupils from the village of Ballygarvan itself, as well as pupils from Carrigaline. In the case of Shanbally, the Department has agreed with the long-term projected enrolment so that it will remain a school of eight mainstream classes.

The school has submitted its own proposal whereby a builder would construct the extension and lease it back to the Department over a 24-year period. That design work was completed by O'Shea Leader consultants. The Minister for Education and Science is familiar with this school, having represented the constituency for a long time. He has advanced a number of other projects in the constituency.

Shanbally is a very deserving case. I pay tribute to Mr. Liam Shanahan, the principal, and his staff, for working in difficult conditions. I hope the Minister will find a suitable avenue to advance this essential project, whether it be through the permanent accommodation scheme or the capital building programme.

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