Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the very frustrating situation at St. Paul's in Monasterevin. As we had the opportunity to speak about this issue at length yesterday at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, I will be brief today.

The school was declared structurally unsound in 2004, but it is still in place, in all of its glory, with more than double the numbers. There are only two toilet cubicles for 207 boys; there is no staff room; the prefabs are damp; the heating system is erratic and there is no gym. I commend the staff, principal and school community for the wonderful work they do. The principal, Mr. Brian Bergin, gave a great account of the excellent school community, but it is incredibly frustrated. Can the Minister say whether the process of acquiring a site has been finalised? A site has been on the horizon for the past 15 years. Can he say when the design element will be finalised? The people of Monasterevin are being served very well by the principal and staff of St. Paul's, but, sadly, they are not being served well by the State.

Last week the Minister announced the provision of 16 new second level schools, but Kildare South, despite having been on the 2015 list, was left off the new list, which is incredible. The figures supplied by the Department do not stack up. There is no political will on the part of the Fine Gael Government to deliver a new second level school in south Kildare, despite the figures that have been provided. South Kildare is the fastest growing region in the country. Between 2011 and 2016, the population of the area grew at 143% of the growth rate for the State. In the south Kildare Educate Together report sent to the Minister last August it was noted that in seven years there would be more than 400 students without a school place, but the Minister does not see this as a problem. I understand numbers come into it, but yesterday at the aforementioned committee meeting officials told members that the Department was seeking to provide 1,250 extra places in existing schools to meet the demand. Surely, the answer to the problem is to provide a new second level school in south Kildare.

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