Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I am glad the Minister can be present this evening. I wish to make a special request of her. The proposed new national school for Ballybunion is based on the amalgamation of Scoil Pio Naofa, the boys national school, and St. Joseph's girls national school. The schools are in two old buildings that are structurally substandard. Scoil Pio Naofa was built in 1929 and is a small, two classroom, damp, stone building. Both schools are in designated rural disadvantaged areas. A file for a new school in Ballybunion was opened 30 years ago in the Department of Education. In 2000, the staff of Scoil Pio Naofa and St. Joseph's agreed to amalgamate in a new building. The Bishop of Kerry agreed in 2004 to release a large greenfield site on Church Road in Ballybunion for the new school. On 13 January 2006, the Department of Education and Science agreed funding for a new building. The boards of management of both schools agreed to a generic plan to speed up the process because Scoil Pio Naofa in particular was extremely substandard. On 11 June 2006, the design team was selected. The Ballybunion project has now reached the final stage of the six stages it had to complete and is waiting for the announcement of a contractor and the signing of a contract.

Recently, rats were found in a prefab attached to Scoil Pio Naofa, an incident that was highlighted in the Kerry's Eye newspaper, which stated:

Rats force kids from classroom. Health of pupils a worry at Ballybunion prefab.

The Kerryman newspaper reported: "The principal of Scoil Pio Naofa, Ballybunion, Eibhlín Walsh, said that she fears for the health and safety of the school boys who were forced to study in a dangerous 20 year-old pre-fab." These pupils had to be moved to a holiday lodge across the road from the school. I understand the school's principal contacted the Department but the latter was only prepared to pay for the rental of the holiday lodge being used by the students. The situation resulted in an editorial in The Kerryman which stated:

sub-standard education facilities in Kerry have become an all-too familiar news story over the last decade.

The context in which these unacceptable situations arise is important; occurring at a time of unprecedented wealth in this country.

When it comes to the welfare and education of our children, the State stands accused of hypocrisy and double-standards of the most serious form.

On the one hand, we boast an education system and standards in this country that remain the envy of most countries in the developed world. At the same time, successive governments refused to acknowledge and failed to act on a situation where some of these education standards were attained and maintained in conditions more akin to war-torn or famine stricken nations.

The plight of the board of management, the principal and the school of Scoil Pio Naofa did not develop overnight. We now know that a proper school was wanting in Ballybunion long before the timber began to rot and rats decided to move in.

A former principal of a school in England wrote in a letter to the newspaper that he felt embarrassed as an Irishman when he read the story about rat-infested conditions in Ballybunion school. He became aware of the dire conditions in many Kerry schools since returning from England.

I urge the Minister to ensure that the tender documents are accepted so that a contractor can be appointed immediately after Christmas to commence work. It is unacceptable that the children are expected to receive their education in a holiday home. Account should also be taken of the conditions in the convent school and the two stone classrooms. I thank the Minister for attending for this Adjournment matter. Will she give me a positive response that I can pass on to the parents concerned?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Deenihan for raising this issue. I hope the local newspaper is as laudatory of the multi-million sums that have been spent on schools in County Kerry. I have had the pleasure of opening extensions and new buildings in the county and I am sure they will give equal coverage to that.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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They will if the Minister has good news this evening.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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With 4,000 schools throughout the country, it has only been in recent years that we have made substantial progress. County Kerry has done well because it has so many small schools. It is always a great pleasure to visit them. The fact that so many educational conferences seem to take place in the county means that I visit more schools there than anywhere else.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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We value education in Kerry. It is important for us.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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That is true but it also applies in respect of other counties. In regard to the school building for Ballybunion, planning permission, a fire certificate and the tender report for the project are being examined by the Department's building unit. This will lead to the provision of a new two storey, eight classroom generic repeat design school. As the Deputy might be aware, generic repeat design is an efficient method of speedily delivering top quality schools because it means we do not have to go through all the usual processes of design and architectural planning.

We are spending €540 million this year and nearly €600 million next year on school buildings. This school, the planning process for which is well under way, will be considered in the context of the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme. I intend to announce in January the first tranche of projects which will go to construction in 2008 and there will be further announcements during the year as the school building programme is rolled out.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I appeal to the Minister to ensure Ballybunion is included in the programme. It would be her Christmas present to me.