Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom plé a dhéanamh ar Phobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola ar an Fhál Carrach. Seo scoil atá i mo cheantar féin. Chuaigh mo chuid deartháireacha ag an scoil blianta ó shin agus tá an scoil i ndrochdhóigh; ní dabht ar bith fá dtaobh de sin. Tá iarratas i ndiaidh iarratas curtha isteach ag an bpríomhoide agus obair na gcapall déanta ag an fhoireann ansin ó thaobh an oideachais atá siad ag cur ar fáil do na céadta dalta atá ansin, anuas ar an scoil a choinneáil go maith. É sin ráite, ní féidir níos mó a dhéanamh mar go bhfuil fadhbanna móra sa scoil sin. Tá an t-uisce ag sileadh tríd an díon. Ní i spota amháin atá sé seo ag tarlú ach ar fud na scoile. Tá fadhb ann ó thaobh an tséarachais de agus caithfear na cláir taobh isteach den scoil a thógáil agus rods a chur síos leis an tséarachais a chur trí na píopaí. Tá fadhbanna ó thaobh easpa spáis ann agus fadhbanna eile fosta sa scoil sin. An rud atá de dhíth ná scoil úr. Níl dabht ar bith fá dtaobh de sin agus caithfear scoil úr a thabhairt don cheantar seo láithreach.

I want to raise the urgent need for capital works at Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola in Falcarragh, County Donegal, a school I visited recently and which, without question, is one of the most in need of immediate investment anywhere in the State. The Government has known this for years because the principal has submitted application after application to the Department in relation to all the issues going on in the school. The staff, the principal, the team and the board of management deserve all the praise. I have seen the positive educational environment that has been fostered there by the staff and I have seen the excitement from students but they are doing that in a very difficult state in terms of the school property they are in. I have walked through the corridors of the school and it is unacceptable in this day and age, in 2025, for children to be educated in such a building.

There are multiple unpredicted leaks. I am not talking about small leaks here. I am talking about leaks so bad that you could take a shower under them. There are big bins trying to capture the water all over the school every time it rains. They are in classrooms, in science classrooms, in halls, in toilets. It is just all over the place. We have issues with the damp and mould that are affecting some classrooms to such an extent that some classrooms have to be locked and can no longer be used. If the Minister of State walked into them, she would understand; just the smell and the damp mean that they are not any way suitable any more. We have prefabs that were provided back in 1982. They are in some cases falling apart. The walls are coming off. A huge amount of work is being done by maintenance to try to keep them in proper order. There is a hole in the floor with a big 8 in x 4 in sheet covering it up. There are serious issues going on and the school is trying to do the best they can.

There are serious drainage issues in the school. Between two and three times every week, they have to lift the manholes in the school because they are blocked. Can the Minister of State just imagine kids running around, including kids with special needs and sensory issues, and somebody has to lift up that manhole and use rods to release excrement? It is not acceptable in this day and age, and it has happened over and over again. All the toilets have to be moved outside the school; there is no other way to fix that problem. There are serious fire issues. I can put my hand through the different walls. There are no fire blocks. You would never be allowed to build a school like that today.

There are so many other issues. There is a need for an additional ASD room, a need for a sensory room, and there is so much work that need to be done, including electrical works. What is needed here is a new school, a school that actually meets the needs of the children in the year of 2025. They have the land. It is available to them. This is extremely urgent and I am asking the Minister of State to answer a couple of questions. What is the status of the applications they have made? Will the Department consider providing a new school building? Will the Department prioritise Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola for capital works? Crucially, because this will change everything, I am inviting the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State to Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola. Once they see it with their own eyes, they will be very convinced that there is only one option here and that is that we need capital works for a new school on this site.

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