Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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It is heartening that the Minister for Education and Science is in the Chamber for the Adjournment debate. Normally, Ministers leave it to their Ministers of State.

There are 167 pupils attending O'Brennan national school, Kielduff, Tralee, County Kerry. It has grown by 50% in the past ten years, due primarily to the school's excellent and dedicated teaching staff, board of management and parents' council. The school has eight teachers comprising six classroom teachers, a learning support teacher and a part-time resource teacher. It also has two special needs assistants and a secretary.

Yesterday morning, the parents and staff invited local public representatives and the press to see at first hand the conditions both teachers and pupils must endure. It was a dreadful experience. The main school is dilapidated and damp. Windows do not open. The staff office is a converted bicycle shed and doubles up as a remedial classroom. The schoolyard is broken and uneven and floods during heavy rain. There are five prefabs, one of which is 25 years old. They are too hot in summer and too cold in winter, heaters are coming off walls and the ceilings are covered with damp patches. One of the prefabs has no lobby and none has a cloakroom. Class sizes are over 30 pupils and there is no school hall. Any major remedial work that has taken place, such as the upgrading of toilet facilities and the new tarmac playground, has been provided through fund-raising by the parents' council. The secretary works in an office in which the door does not open fully. Overall, the prefabs and the main school building are in very poor condition. The Minister visited the school some time ago and will be aware of these problems.

Four years ago the board of management was advised to draw up plans for a new school building consisting of five classrooms and a hall. However, on receipt of the plans, the Department requested that the board of management purchase an extra acre of land adjacent to the school because of the restrictive nature of the site. The land was purchased but no progress has been made since. While it is welcome that an architect from the Department will visit the school this week, why has it taken so long to advance this project, particularly at a time of unprecedented financial resources? The only conclusion one can come to is that the Minister and the Department ignored and abandoned the staff and pupils of O'Brennan national school. Hopefully, the Minister will give a clear indication that the project will be prioritised by the Department and the staff and pupils will not have to wait another four years for a response from the Department. It is critical that the Minister should provide some positive news on the school's accommodation. The staff, parents and pupils of the school are not prepared to endure these conditions much longer.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Deenihan for giving me the opportunity of outlining the position of the Department of Education and Science regarding O'Brennan national school, Kielduff, Tralee, County Kerry.

Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. As evidence of this commitment, over €540 million will be spent on school building and modernisation projects in the coming year on primary and post-primary schools. Some 1,500 projects of various scales will be undertaken.

O'Brennan national school was one of several schools which the Department approved to progress through architectural planning. However, as the enrolment increased substantially, the long projected enrolment had to be reassessed for this school. The brief for the project was subsequently amended to provide adequate accommodation for a principal, seven classroom teachers and 1.5 learning support and resource teachers. Deputy Deenihan should note that the Department gave the school extra teachers to cope with the extra enrolments. The Department could have waited for the new school building to be completed before appointing the extra teachers. It was felt, however, that it was more important the pupils should benefit from the extra teachers immediately.

The Department's technical team is assessing how best to progress this project and several options are being considered. When this assessment is completed, the Department will be in contact with the school authorities as to the next steps involved in progressing this building project. In the case of all large capital projects on hand in the school building section, progression of the project to tender and construction will be considered in the context of the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme. The Department of Education and Science is committed to providing suitable high quality accommodation for O'Brennan national school at the earliest possible date.