John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. The closure of St. Mary's secondary school on a phased basis is a serious blow to the local community I represent. The community to which I refer is based in the Ringsend, Irishtown and Pearse Street areas and was described at a recent local meeting about the closure as traditional working class.

St. Mary's secondary school is on Haddington Road and it has served the area extremely well for more than 100 years. Great credit must be given to the Holy Faith Sisters for their dedication and commitment over that time. The nuns and teachers in the school are excellent and deserve great credit. Their dedication can be seen in the excellent results they have achieved over many years because of small class sizes. Many parents have told me that their children receive one to one dedicated schooling, which has resulted in better results.

We are now being told that the school must close because it is no longer financially viable, as the grant from the Department of Education and Science does not cover all the outgoings, because of the reduction in the number of vocations and because of what are called demographics — there are fewer people attending the school. I will come back to the financial problems shortly. As regards demographics, that argument is not easy to understand, given that there is a rising population in the area. We saw that recently when the boundary of the Dublin South-East constituency remained the same. More apartments are being built in the area and more young people with small children are moving to it. Where will these children, particularly the girls, go to secondary school?

Such is the problem in the area that the principal of Westland Row CBS, Mr. Ken Duggan, has suggested that the girls' and boys' schools should be amalgamated and that the new school should be located in the Dublin docklands area. That is an excellent idea, but it is a long way off. In the meantime, we must deal with this problem. Where will girls in the area go to secondary school? There is no answer to that question. Many schools in the area have been closed and people are now left with the choice of Muckross Park College, which is the closest, going outside the area or going to fee paying schools. These are not viable or acceptable options for many parents in the area.

The Department of Education and Science must think strategically. It needs to explore all the options and it needs to invest in the school. It needs to do everything it can possibly do to keep the school open. It cannot act unilaterally and needs the co-operation of the school and particularly of the trustees, who now have to report their intentions after the last meeting with the parents. I have asked the school authorities to give the parents some hope in this regard. If the trustees have decided they are to close the school, sell the property and make a profit, there is little we can do. I hope the Minister and his Department officials will liaise with the trustees to ensure the school remains open. We had a similar problem in the constituency with St. Anne's. What happens to the money a religious order receives on the sale of such a property? It is probably of little benefit to the religious order. The Department needs to decide what will be done for a growing population in the area and I hope the Minister of State will propose some solutions tonight.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in this House as it affords me the opportunity on behalf of the Department of Education and Science to outline to this House the current position regarding the proposed closure of St. Mary's secondary school, Haddington Road, Dublin 4. St. Mary's secondary school is an all-girls' post-primary school with a current enrolment of 149 pupils. The trustees of the school, the Sisters of the Holy Faith, have indicated to the Department that they are not in a position to continue to provide post-primary education in St. Mary's secondary school. Accordingly, they intend to close the school on a phased basis by June 2006.

As trustees of St. Mary's secondary school, the decision to withdraw from trusteeship and management of the school is a matter for the Sisters of the Holy Faith. Therefore, it is not within the capacity of the Department of Education and Science to reverse the decision taken by the trustees to close the school.

The issues for the Minister for Education and Science are to ensure that the best interests of the pupils are looked after in the period up to the closure of the school in 2006, and to ensure there will be sufficient post-primary educational provision in the area for pupils who would normally have enrolled in this school. In this context, the Department is involved in an analysis of the three post-primary schools serving the needs of the south inner city area of Dublin. Crucial to this analysis is the exploration of the possibility of a single school development to cater for the 444 pupils currently enrolled in the existing schools. This exploration is being conducted in consultation with the relevant trustees. Additionally, an integral element of this process will entail an examination of accommodation options for the proposed development.

The school planning section of the Department will work assiduously to ensure that there is adequate provision in the south inner city area to meet the educational needs of post-primary pupils in the south inner city area. I again thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to discuss this matter in this House.