Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I read the document on the guidance on the use of school buildings outside of school hours to which the Minister referred. It considers the issues surrounding insurance, risk assessments, health and safety, security and those types of situations. I am talking about opening schools for full community use. Nothing has the potential to bring people together more effectively than our schools. We know that communities benefit from strong schools and students benefit from strong communities. Schools do not simply provide a place to educate our children; they anchor students in their communities and provide additional amenities to communities and shared spaces for recreational activities. Communities where schools are appropriately sited and whose accessibility is enhanced can support good health, with children and users able to walk or cycle to school which encourages greater physical activity.

Like the Minister, I have spent a considerable period of my life in a classroom and school environment. I have worked in schools that have been lucky enough to have brand new state-of-the-art facilities on greenfield sites and in schools where they do their best within the confines of their four walls. We need a greater opening up of schools for communities.

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