Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Clifden community school serves a very extensive area of west Connemara, from Maam Cross to Clifden and from Roundstone to Leenane. It is now the only second level school in this area with the closure of Kylemore Abbey school.

In the school catchment area, there are primary schools in Roundstone, Ballyconneely, Aillbrack, Clifden, Cashel, Kingstown, Claddaghduff, Cleggan, Letterfrack, Tully, Eagles Nest, Inishbofin and Lettergesh. Virtually all of these schools saw upgrades in the standard of their accommodation in the term of the Fianna Fáil Governments of recent years through the devolved schemes, the summer works scheme, and the emergency works scheme. This included major works on Cashel, Cleggan, Claddaghduff, Eagle Nest and Inishbofin schools. We had on completion of this programme proceeded to the progression of the building of a replacement building for Clifden community school and had made significant progress on it before leaving office. To be honest, I thought we had brought this project to the point of no return . How wrong could I be in underestimating the anti-rural bias of this Government?

On 7 February, nearly a year after coming into office, the Minister for Education and Skills informed me in a parliamentary reply that:

The major building project at the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The design team are currently working on finalising the stage 2(b) submission (detailed Design and Tender Documents) which will then be forwarded to my Department for review. Thereafter, officials from my Department will be in contact with the Board of Management with regard to the progression of the project.

The Department will shortly publish an outline five year programme on the projects to be constructed in that time. The school building projects currently in architectural planning, including the project at Clifden Community School will be considered in the context of that programme, taking into account the funding available, the building costs involved and the progression of other major projects required to meet demographic needs.

When I got this reply my antennae immediately told me that we were heading for trouble and that the Minister was about to put this file in what the late Monsignor Horan used to refer to as the "MAD file". The acronym MAD stands for "maximum administrative delay" and means that files are not rejected outright but they never progress either. I alerted the school authorities and the parents organisation, CSI, immediately to inform them of my concerns in the vain hope that the local Government Oireachtas Members could persuade the Minister to include this school in the five year building plan.

When the Minister announced the five year plan, Clifden community school had disappeared off the radar for the next five years. On examining the criteria for selection laid down by the Minister, as outlined in a recent freedom of information request, the priority for new builds of schools are "projects that will provide for significant additional capacity to meet demographic growth." Amazingly in this prioritisation there is no mention of sub-standard buildings or unsuitable prefabricated buildings, both of which exist in Clifden. In a reply to a question from me on 18 April, the Minister clarified that as far as he is concerned there is no minimum standard laid down for school buildings by his Department. In simple terms, if there is a roof over their heads, the Minister did not even consider the unsuitability of the building or otherwise.

I call on the Minister today to redress a wrong done by him and his Department to this school, its pupils, teachers and parents, and to reverse his unjustifiable decision not to proceed with the building of a new school at Clifden community school. I also call on him to have the common decency to meet a delegation from the school, something he has refused to do and something I and others will continue to pursue through the elected Government Deputies in the area.

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