Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating this Topical Issue, which provides me with an opportunity to raise the serious situation at the CBS secondary school in Ennistymon. I thank the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for being here personally to take the debate, for which I am very thankful. CBS Ennistymon is a very progressive school where the management and staff promote an all-round education ethos. Its priority is very much focused on the needs of its students and, as a result, the school has a very friendly environment. As well as promoting academic performance, the school provides a range of extra-curricular activities in which the students are encouraged to participate. CBS Ennistymon was the only school in County Clare to be represented at the Web Summit. It is a regular participant at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition and this year, for the first time in its history, it won a major hurling title, the Munster schools senior championship, and congratulations are due to all involved. It also runs after-school clubs in applied maths and computers, publishes an annual school magazine and, last week, had a very successful school concert.

I am highlighting these issues to show the Minister the difficult background and deteriorating conditions of the prefabricated buildings against which the students and teachers have to work. Last Monday morning, I visited the school. The main school building is in fair condition, except for one room, which had a smell of damp. At the rear of this building are six prefabricated buildings, all of which were bought second hand and have gone well past their sell-by date. I inspected all six units and not one of them is fit for purpose. One was being used by first year students and was closed down at the end of October because of health and safety issues. Earlier this evening, I presented the Minister with a copy of the HSE report. The other five prefabricated buildings are also in very bad condition, with holes in the external walls, no insulation, uneven floors and rotten floorboards one could walk through. They were extremely cold. The entrance door of one prefab which was used as a classroom was so bad it had to be replaced with a metal door. There are no handles on the windows, and when the weather is windy, two desks have to be placed against the entrance door to other prefabs to keep it closed.

One of the small prefabs I visited is a resource room. It has no heating, is damp, the paint is peeling and the floor is rotten. These are facts surrounding the appalling state of these prefabricated buildings that urgently need to be replaced in the interests of health and safety.

The problem of course is there is an amalgamation process in place in respect of all three schools in Ennistymon and that amalgamation proposal will put them all into a single site, which leaves the school in limbo. Talks on this project have been ongoing since 1997, and I understand the transfer of the site involved still awaits a decision from the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. Even with the best will in the world and even were the green light to be given for the amalgamated school project in the morning, it would take a number of years for it to happen. However, it will not happen because there are some problems at present with regard to the site transfer. The teachers and students of Ennistymon CBS cannot wait. The school has made an application for funding and given the school's positive reputation, there also has been a surge in enrolment. At present, 182 students are enrolled and next year, I understand this figure will rise to 215 students, which will place even greater pressure on the school. Will the Minister send down her officials to fast-track the emergency application for the prefabricated buildings in order that they can see the school for themselves at first hand. Being a Clare woman, the Minister is very familiar with north County Clare and I know she will have positive news on this issue, particularly at this time of the year at Christmas.

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