Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the opportunity to raise the urgent question of the need for an extension to Kinsale community school. The school was originally built for 460 students. The need for the extension was recognised over five years ago. Enrolment has increased in every year in the meantime and this year it will be up to 700. The projected figure within a couple of years is 850 and the Department recognised that the extension must be adequate to cater for that number.

As of now, serious and dangerous overcrowding exists and this is projected to get worse. Some temporary classrooms have been provided for general classes but there has been no additional, even temporary, accommodation in the practical specialist areas of art and drawing, home economics, engineering and building construction. A limit has now to be placed on the uptake of these subjects. Kinsale community school is the only second level school in the area. By way of comparison, in my adjoining town of Bandon there are four second level schools so one can appreciate the pressures on the single second level school in Kinsale.

The Kinsale community school resulted from the amalgamation of the existing schools, including the vocational school. It seeks to provide a comprehensive system of post-primary education open to all the children of the community and combining instruction in academic and practical subjects.

Apart from the problems for the students, conditions for the staff are getting worse and have become extremely difficult. The original staff room was built to accommodate 34 staff. This year it will have to accommodate 58 staff overall, so there is hardly standing room. There is a culture of parental involvement in the school but now staff members find that they often have to conduct discussions with parents and others in conditions that are neither appropriate nor adequate.

I raised this issue by way of parliamentary questions on a number of occasions. I was told by the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on 25 April 2006 in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 873 that the "next step in the process is the appointment of a design team to commence the architectural planning of the project". This is almost the second anniversary of that reply. In February 2007, I had a further positive response indicating that the long-term accommodation needs of the school had been determined in the light of the upward enrolment trends and projected pupil numbers and that a schedule of overall accommodation had been drawn up. The only issue outstanding was the need to have a technical examination of the existing buildings "in order to determine how best to provide for the school's accommodation needs into the future", and this was carried out a few months later.

The positive responses have lapsed into silence since the election last year. The only changes to have taken place since then, despite the positive vibrations from the Minister, are that school numbers have continued to rise, the demand for accommodation has become greater and the pressure on teachers has become greater. The Minister and the Government have done nothing in the meantime. It is time for them to step up to the mark and deliver on what was promised years ago. I want the immediate appointment of a design team to commence the architectural planning of the project without delay.

I want to refer to two issues which put this matter in its broader context. As pointed out in many recent articles, it is no coincidence that Ireland's prosperity and economic dynamism is related to the educational advances of 30 and 40 years ago. A book on Donogh O'Malley was published recently. Whatever the reason for the wild decision he made, it was a great decision to provide free secondary education. However, there is no point having free secondary education if we do not provide facilities for the pupils seeking it.

The other issue in recent times relates to the McKinsey report from the international business consultants who graded Finland, Korea and Canada as the top performers in education for three reasons. The report stated that they have the best teachers, they get the best out of teachers and they step in when pupils begin to lag behind. They respect teaching as a profession. The difference here, and specifically in Kinsale, is that this cannot be done. Nobody can step in because there is no room to step in.

I say to the Minister and the Government that now is the time. Let us have the design team and let us get on with the business without further delay.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Jim O'Keeffe for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House on behalf the Minister for Education and Science how projects are selected for inclusion in a school building programme and what the position is for the proposed building project for Kinsale community school in his constituency.

First, by way of background, all applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of the Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting, based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings and site capacity, leading ultimately to an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners.

Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project which indicates the urgency, type and extent of work required at a school. There are four band ratings overall, of which band one is the highest and band four the lowest. Band one projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but where there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band four project makes provision of desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities. Building projects move through the school building and modernisation programme consistent with the band rating assigned to them.

As the Deputy will probably be aware, €586 million in public funding is being provided for school buildings this year. This will ensure the completion of work on 67 large-scale primary school projects that will deliver 7,000 additional permanent school places in new schools and 2,300 additional permanent school places in existing schools; construction work on 150 devolved projects under the permanent accommodation scheme, which will provide 8,000 additional places in existing primary schools; in the post-primary sector construction work will be completed on 19 large scale-projects which will provide 2,400 permanent school places in four new schools and additional accommodation and refurbishment works in 15 schools that will benefit over 7,000 pupils; the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, particularly in rapidly developing areas; and the progression of new projects through the architectural planning and design stages.

On 1 February last, the Minister announced the first tranche of projects that will be proceeding to construction this year. Further announcements will be made as the budgetary position for 2008 allows. Construction is also due to begin in 2008 on the first bundle of public private partnership schools, while further ones will be offered to the market next year with a view to building work commencing in later years.

This is an enormous programme of work by any standards. The emphasis, however, will be on new schools and extensions to provide additionality in rapidly developing areas where there is currently insufficient school accommodation available to meet the heavy demand for places.

This is the background. I fully appreciate that Deputy O'Keeffe is particularly interested in what will happen to Kinsale community school which is a co-educational facility with a current enrolment of just short of 650 pupils. As Deputy O'Keeffe indicated, the school has applied for an extension and the project has been assigned a band 2 rating. A schedule of overall accommodation has been agreed with the board of management to cater for the long-term enrolment of 850 pupils, given an expansion in that region. The next step is the appointment of a design team to commence architectural planning. This will be considered in the context of the band rating assigned to the project which I have already explained is band 2. There is a common approach to all applications for large-scale capital funding. Contact will be made directly with the school authority when the Department is in a position to approve this project.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter and point out that over the lifetime of the current national development plan, the Government is providing funding of €4.5 billion for school buildings. I refer to the overall plan over a longer period but I fully appreciate the Deputy and his colleagues in the constituency are concerned about this specific school and I will bring the strong views he expressed to the attention of the Minister at the first available opportunity.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that, but there is no joy for Kinsale in that response.