Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

The community in Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola have been very patient. The staff and the board of management have been very patient. They have made their case time and again but patience is running out. What the school needs now is clear. It needs decisive action from the Department. The Minister of State talked about the six applications that are in and there could be more going in. The problem here is not only that this school needs emergency works but that there is a case for a new school building, given the overall works that have to be carried out. There is a new roof to be done and there is a whole issue, as I said, whereby the toilets will all have to be moved outside. There are serious issues with the prefabs and there are fire safety issues. This school needs a new build. The roof is leaking in multiple areas. Mould and damp are spreading. Drainage is failing in the bathroom. For students and staff, this is what is happening every day. They are moving buckets around to try to make sure that classrooms are available to teach in. There are dehumidifiers moving around from classroom to classroom.

Despite all of this, the staff continue to do absolutely outstanding work, providing first-class education in conditions that are completely substandard. They should not have to patch up ceilings or shift classrooms just to teach. Their professionalism and commitment are remarkable, but they have been let down by the system. I am asking the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, to come to Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola. That answer is no good for us. It is the same answer I got earlier this year and last year. We have been raising this issue for years now. It is not acceptable. I would not want my child taught in that school. I would not want a child with special needs or sensory issues taught in that school. It is not fair. I walk into schools right across Donegal and it is brilliant to see the new school buildings and the environment that these kids are being taught in. Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola deserves the same. The classrooms are also substandard. The sizes are no longer in keeping with the with the recommendation.

The Department can look at the six applications that are in. It will cost a fortune to do every single one of them and it still will not fix the problems overall. What is needed here is to go down to the school, recognise the severity of it and look at a new build on a greenfield site that is available to the school in that area. I would seriously consider it. If the Department looks at these individual applications in silos, it is missing the wood for the trees.

See this speech in context